


fall right back

by maumitch



Series: the unknown we fear [1]
Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, F/F, Slow Burn, Smut, mostly soojin centered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:34:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 76,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28961784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maumitch/pseuds/maumitch
Summary: That’s when she saw her. There was a girl, a few steps away, and she was staring. The Slytherin wouldn’t have been that surprised, but that was nothing like she ever experienced before. First of all, she had never seen her. The girl was just as tall as her, she looked pretty serious, but not mad. Maybe curious. And second, there was something in her eyes, darker than Soojin’s, that she couldn’t really describe.orthe hogwarts!au no one asked for
Relationships: Cho Miyeon/Minnie Nicha Yontararak, Jeon Soyeon/Song Yuqi, Seo Soojin/Yeh Shuhua
Series: the unknown we fear [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2193633
Comments: 203
Kudos: 444





	1. of new beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> sooo, this is my first time writing something in english and i really wanted to try, so i figured i'd start with what makes me most comfortable: hogwarts  
> it took me a week just to decide the houses, especially soyeon's, but yeah... hope the slytherin!sy won't be too mad :D  
> if you make it to the end, let me know what you think and/or if i could improve something :)

Soojin has always been this quiet, only speaking when someone asks her, mostly Soyeon, who tries her harder to make her fit in. It has never worked, but from year one to year seven the shorter one never gave up. Don’t get her wrong, she is actually grateful to have a friend to push her like that. She wouldn’t be sitting in that train compartment with four other people, if it wasn’t for her.  
  
“Jin?” spaced out like often happens, Soojin turned around to face Minnie, that decided to begin their last year with a very sober, unnoticeable pink hair. Of course, being a metamorphmagus she could change it whenever, but the Slytherin is pretty sure she won’t today.  
“Me and Miyeon are gonna go change, wanna come?”  
The Express, to be honest, took off an hour ago or so, but being Miyeon and Minnie the headgirls for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw house respectively, they had a meeting to attend in a short time. Soojin shook her head as a response, going back to gaze outside the window.  
“Does this mean we won’t get in trouble at all this year?” Yuqi, the youngest out of them and newest to the group, having bonded with Soyeon just last year, was way too excited to have two friends among the Prefects.  
“No.” Miyeon cut Minnie off before she could promise anything to the Gryffindor. Soojin missed the rest of the conversation, too lost in her own thoughts. Being her last year in Hogwarts, she was supposed to have a lot figured out, but the truth was she didn’t even know what she liked. Even Yuqi, attending her sixth year, had a life project much clearer than hers.  
  
And then there was the fact that life in the dungeons wasn’t the greatest for her. For some reason, she couldn’t make a single friend in Slytherin. Not because they were all mean or something like that. Perhaps, they all were too similiar to her and that was the real problem. Still, she didn’t look forward to this last school year.  
  
“Stop!” Yuqi whined as loud as usual, moving her head away from Soyeon’s hand. “I’m only a few months younger than you, I’m not a baby.”  
Soyeon didn’t seem to register those words, because she pinched her cheek even harder. “But you’re so cute, it’s like you’re in second year.”  
  
That went on all summer. Yuqi liked to pretend to be annoyed, but Soojin saw her hiding a smile more than once. More than ten times, to be honest. She wasn’t surprised at all when they started hitting each other, but one thing was witnessing their quarrels when Miyeon and Minnie were also there, one thing was straight up being a third wheel. Again, it wasn’t a first time for that as well. They seemed to get along far too well. There were Soyeon and Yuqi on one side, Minnie and Miyeon on the other. Soojin still had not found someone that seemed to click that perfectly with her. Some days she just thought she’d never find such person.  
  
“Where are you going?” the Ravenclaw asked, when she saw her standing up.  
“I’m hungry.”  
“Oh!” Again, the young Gryffindor was somehow pretty bada t reading the signs. “Can you buy me something? Anything. I have my money in my suitcase, I’ll give it back later.”  
Soojin shook her head, but couldn’t fight back the smile that was formed on her lips this time. She liked Yuqi, even if she wasn’t one to say that out loud.

______________________

The trolley witch was nowhere to be found, as expected. It was too early, Soojn knew it, but she still needed to take a walk. The train was the opposite of quiet, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t notice some people looking at her. It was the major reason why she always tried not to be noticed. She wasn’t a fool, she was often told how good looking she was, but that didn’t exactly help in making friends, since a lot of guys wanted one thing, while most girls found her way too annoying to get to know her.  
It bothered hera t first, but now it wasn’t that big of a problem. She was fine having four friends, because she knew they were the best friends she could ever ask for, she didn’t need anyone else.  
  
“Soojin, hey!” Ryujin, one of her roomates, stopped right in front of her, giving her a smile. “How was your summer?”  
She also hated small talks, but everyone does, right? Still, she was too polite not to play along, so she smiled back. “Pretty good, I’ve been to Spain this year.”  
They chatted for a few minutes, until another girl, whose name Soojin couldn’t remember, showed her head to look for her friend.  
“Wanna come in with us?” Soojin lifted both eyebrows, taking a quick look at the compartment.  
“Thanks, but Soyeon is waiting for me. I was sent to find the trolley lady.”  
“Good luck with that, I heard she’s started from the other end of the train this time.”  
  
Which was great, really. She didn’t mind that much, since she just wanted to walk in the first place, but Yuqi and Soyeon? It’s not like they liked every single sweet. Actually, they were sort of picky. That’s why, instead of waiting the witch to come there, she decided to walk towards the other end of the Hogwarts Express.  
Knowing the students, she was lucky she wasn’t caught by a charm or bitten by whatever creature was lurking in between their legs. Of course, she knew only a few animals were allowed at Hogwarts, everyone knew, but someone always tried to sneak something else at the start of the year. No one was ever succesful, not that she knew.  
  
It took her ten minutes of avoiding stares and attempts to stop her for a chat, but she eventually found a group of people that were ordering different sweets. She waited in line, as she always did, and even let one or two students go ahead, but then she stepped forward herself, too tired of loud noises and people pushing her left and right.  
“A box of Every Flavour Beans, one of Jelly Buttons and five Cauldron Cakes.”  
  
While she waited for the old witch to gather her stuff, Soojin looked around. That’s when she saw her. There was a girl, a few steps away, and she was staring. The Slytherin wouldn’t have been that surprised, but that was nothing like she ever experienced before. First of all, she had never seen her. The girl was just as tall as her, she looked pretty serious, but not mad. Maybe curious. And second, there was something in her eyes, darker than Soojin’s, that she couldn’t really describe. They were mesmerizing in some way and, even if that gaze made her feel uncomfortable, neither of them dared to look away.  
  
“Darling?” In the end, Soojin had to snap out of it first, because a bunch of people were begging her to hurry up and pay for her sweets. Which she did, but not without blushing under way too much attention.  
She couldn’t find the courage to look at the girl again, before leaving, and she surely didn’t mention it with Yuqi and Soyeon. It was nothing important, after all.

______________________

Meals were the worst for Soojin. She hated not being able to eat with her friends and she was the one, out of them all, most affected by that stupid rule. Soyeon and Minnie had each other, while for Yuqi and Miyeon making friends wasn’t hard at all.  
Soojin, on the other hand, barely talked during lunch and dinner time. The first dinner of the school year was nothing different. She stared at the water in her glass for the longest time, not paying any attention to what her housemates were saying, until the principal McGonagall cleared her throat, demanding everyone’s attention. To be honest, Soojin did not pay that much attention, because the speech was always the same as the year before.  
  
“A warm welcome to our newest students. We can now begin the Sorting Ceremony.”  
While everyone was focused on the eleven years olds, the Slytherin noticed something else. A girl with pitch black hair walked from the doors, going unnoticed for the most part, and fixed her green tie. Of course, she did recognize her.  
  
It was the girl from the train and she took a sit right in front of her. Again, she didn’t smile. She just looked at her for a few seconds, but then turned to see the ceremony.  
Soojin felt something, but she couldn’t name the feeling. There was something about that girl, but again she couldn’t quite say what it was. What she did know, though, was that she wouldn’t have minded getting to know her, too bad making friends was not her strongest suit.  
  
It was Ryujin, in the end, that noticed the new girl and decided to start a conversation with her.  
“I’m Ryujin, Slytherin’s headgirl. If you have any problem, you can come to me…?”  
“Shuhua.”  
“Good, Shuhua. You’ll find the best of friends in Slyhterin, you’ll see.”  
Which was kind of ironic, given the fact that sitting in front of her was the very Slytherin that couldn’t befriend a single one of them.  
  
She kept on eating, lost in her thoughts once again. Only this time getting away from reality didn’t seem to be as easy, since everytime she tilted her head, she met another pair of eyes for a brief second, just to lose them a moment later. It felt weirder everytime, at the point Soojin let out a sigh of relief when professor Mcgonagall said they could start making their way towards their common rooms, if they wanted to.  
  
She stood up almost immediatly, leaving her apple pie half finished, and she didn’t even stop to wave her friends goodnight. She just wanted to get out of her uniform and get a good night of sleep, because getting a detention for sleeping in class her first day back wasn’t part of the project. She intended this year to be as quick and easy as possible.  
In, study, pass the exams, out. That was the plan. Nothing else, but mostly no one else was included. With that thought in mind, she slid under the green covers of her bed, without even bothering undoing her suitcase. That was a job for tomorrow, as usual.  
  
She didn’t, in the end, get a good night of sleep. She just kept turning around, thinking about how Minnie and Miyeon would be very busy all year, how Soyeon and Yuqi would spend a lot of time together, since that’s what they already did, and how she would feel kind of out of place. She also thought about her future career, trying to find something that she really liked. She couldn’t think of anything this time either. And then, she thought of two big, dark eyes, wondering who the girl was, where was she from, why did she move to Hogwarts this late. She wondered if it was just her mind playing tricks, of if that Shuhua girl actually kept on staring. Perhaps she would’ve talked to her the day after, just out of curiosity. With that thought, she finally fell asleep.


	2. of quidditch and forgotten books

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, i'm back with another chapter :)  
> i wanted to thank everyone that left a comment on the previous one, i hope you'll keep reading!!  
> as usual, if you have any suggestions or some theories on what will happen, i'll gladly read everything  
> anyways, in a chapter or two it will be halloween, which should be funny hehe

  
  
Hogwarts might seem interesting at first, but after six full years it got pretty plain in Soojin’s opinion. Nothing much happened for weeks, except for the teachers reminding seventh graders they had to face the most challenging exams of their life in less than a year. Of course, they said the same thing about the O.W.L.s on their fifth year, so Soojin wasn’t really worried at all.  
To be honest, she found herself thinking about that girl’s gaze more than she did with school duties. It happened again, from time to time. Not that she was counting or paying attention, buti t was hard to miss when they met each other almost everyday, sharing not only a common room, but also the same table in the Great Hall. Luckly, Shuhua turned out to be younger than her and the two didn’t have to be in the same classes as well.  
September came to an end quickly without major events, but with the approaching of a new Quidditch season the school seemed to have found a topic to talk about until the teams’ audictions. The Slytherin, on the other end, wasn’t that fond on sports in general, and the violence of that specific sport didn’t make it better.  
  
“Let me guess,” she announces herself, once she was close enough that the pair could hear her. “You’re talking about how you’re going to make every Gryffindor cry tomorrow.”  
“No.” Yuqi’s answer was quick, and came with a smirk. “Soyeon already knows it, I don’t need to tell her.”  
The younger girl surely was confident, Soojin had to give her that, but she also wondered if there was something else, under her poker face. However, she just raised her brows, now curious.  
“And what’s with all the gesturing, then?”  
“Yuqi was telling me about the new girl.”  
“She’s in Slytherin, you must’ve seen her at least once. A bit taller than you,” absolutely not true, she was sure they were the same height. “Black hair, she always looks sad, or mad, or whatever. Anyways-” she didn’t let Soojin’s lack of response stop her. “She’s actually really funny when you talk to her. She kinda has the same sense of humor as you, maybe you could try to talk to her.”  
“Why?”  
She didn’t need new friends, things were fine the way they were. She just needed to focus on school, without to have to babysit the new girl because Yuqi felt pity for her or something.  
Of course, she noticed the look the Gryffindor exchanged with Soyeon, before the Ravenclaw rolled her eyes.  
“What?”  
“Trying to make a new friend wouldn’t hurt you that much, you know?”  
Soyeon was rarely scared of talking her mind with Soojin, which was the major reason why she was her best friend. Sometimes, it was the major reason why she found her extremly annoying.  
“You’re just trying to give me a reason to leave you two alone. You could just ask, I can’t stand the tension anyway.”  
As she imagined, Yuqi was suddently trying really hard to avoid eye contact, mumbling something that sounded like “That’s nonsense.”  
Soyeon didn’t flinch and kept looking at her with one eyebrow lift up. She would’ve asked what was that about, if only she didn’t get distracted by two other girls stopping by. Minnie smiled, completly unaware.  
“Why is Yuqi sulking? Did you tell her she won’t get in the team?”  
“Hey!”  
“Soojin is in a mood.” Soyeon added, before Minnie could tease the Gryffindor some more.  
“Soojin is always in a mood.”  
“I’m still here.”  
Minnie winked at her, while Miyeon rised a hand in an attempt to pinch her cheek. Of course, Soojin tilted her head back, but the older didn’t give up, wrapping her arms around her. “I’m sure Jin is just tired.”  
“It’s not even October yet.” Yuqi replied, more as a getback than anything.  
“Where were you two, anyway?”  
“Uh? In the library.” Miyeon was a terrible liar, but Soojin decided not to point that out. “It’s our last year, you know?”  
“Yes, we know. Everyone likes to bring that up.”  
Yuqi seemed to gain energy again, since she was the only one who did not attend the seventh year. “While you old ladies- ouch!” She touched her arm, right where Soyeon just hit her. “As I was saying, as you’re going all emo on me, I’m gonna go watch Slytherin’s selectons. Someone want to join?”  
“No.”

_____________

They all went. Somehow, it was to hard denying the younger’s request, especially if they came with her big, watery puppy eyes. Soojin liked to think she could’ve ignored her, if the other didn’t insist so much for her to join them. It would be funny, they said.  
It wasn’t funny at all. Another reason why she didn’t like Quidditch were the squeaky girls cheering for the soon-to-be players. When it came to the Slytherin team, the majority of them were boys. Some of the girls did try, but rarely got in, if not as a backup.  
“Isn’t that Shuhua?”  
At this point, Soojin thought Yuqi had an obsession.  
“Only because you have a crush on her, it doesn’t mean-”  
“No, that’s actually her, look.”  
She pointed at the field in a very not subtle way, and adding to the fact her voice was one of the loudest she had ever heard, of course they gained a few looks from the players. Shuhua being one of them. Soojin noticed how the girl’s lips lifted up a bit, waving back at Yuqi, and then she rested her eyes on the other Slytherin, before turning to pay attention to the captain’s speech. Something about talent and dedication, but Soojin didn’t listen at all.  
“Was it necessary to bring this much attention to us?” she whispered instead, taking a book out of her bag.  
“What are you doing?” Minnie asked, with a confused look on her face.  
“Studying.”  
“But we’re here to watch the selection.” Yuqi protested.  
“No, _you_ are here to watch the selection. I couldn’t care less.”  
  
She was, afterall, in a mood, as Soyeon said earlier. No one wanted to keep the bickering going, so they just focused on the game. Soojin read the first chapter of her History of Magic book, but found herself lifting her eyes more than once. Sometimes she would look at her friends, trying to pick up some of their comments about the possible picks for this year’s team. Other times, she just looked at the flying brooms, without realising how long she would follow one broom in particoular.  
She didn’t know much about Quidditch, but she could see Shuhua was a natural. Her movements were so graceful it looked like she could fly without a broom, while her eyes scouted the whole field looking for the golden snitch. She wasn’t paying attention to what her teammates were doing, she was too focused on the hunt.  
  
When she flew next to the bleachers, Soojin soon realised she was supposed to be studying, so she quickly returned to her book, forcing herself not to look up anymore. Of course, that was until ten or fifteen minutes later, when she heard Yuqi’s loud grunt.  
“What?” She asked, confused at the sudden change of mood.  
“She’s good. The other seeker didn’t even see the snitch.”  
It took the Slytherin a few seconds to understand the selection was over, since all the players were now on the ground and those who came to assist were picking up their stuff, her friends included.  
“You can’t be mad at her because she’s good.” Miyeon tried to argue, but all of them knew how competitive Yuqi could get.  
“Yes I can, I’m gonna have to face her for the entire tournament.”  
“You don’t even know if you’ll get in.” Minnie added, just to tease her, but the results were worse than she thought.  
“Well, thanks, now I’m depressed.”  
“Oh, come on, I’m kidding.”  
Not even Soyeon’s attempts could cheer her up, and she kept that frown all the way to the castle.  
  
Minnie and Miyeon apparently had another meeting, and Soyeon said she had to do something, without revealing what, before she rapidly left Soojin and Yuqi alone in front of the Grand Stairs. It was pretty weird, Soojin made a note in her head that she would have to ask her bestfriend what the hurry was.  
The younger’s attempt to smile made her stomach clench. Maybe she went a little too overboard today.  
“Hey.” She softly called her, before Yuqi could start to go up. The Gryffindor turned around, but stayed quiet.  
“You’re gonna pass. You’ll be the best player tomorrow, the captain will look like he’s flying for the first time.”  
“What if I don’t? What if I get distracted and I don’t catch the snitch?”  
“You’ll catch it.”  
“How do you know?”  
“I just do. I’ve seen you play, I know you’re good.”  
“You can’t even tell the balls apart.”  
“Fuck you’re annoying. I like you better when you’re cocky, so stop crying or I’m gonna beat your ass. You’re gonna pass this selection, no questions.”  
The other smiled, this time actually reassured. “She.”  
“Uh?”  
“Our captain is a she.”  
“Oh. Well, whatever.”  
She felt her cheeks heating up a tiny bit and got ready to turn around, but she then felt two arms wrapped around her waist and Yuqi’s cheek pressed against her chest.  
“Thank you.”  
Soojin wasn’t an unpleasant person after all, she was just shy, and had a lot of trouble with social interactions. She liked Yuqi, though, and even if the hug made her feel like everyone was staring at them, she started to caress the younger’s back nonetheless.  
“Will you come cheer for me?”  
“Yuqi…” she tried to protest, with the most whiny voice she could. Two selections in a row weren’t something she was looking forward to.  
“Please.”  
“Ugh, fine.”  
It turned out not even Seo Soojin was immune to Yuqi’s begging look.

_____________

Sometimes she liked the dungeons. No one wanted to hang out there, unless they were trying to hide, so they were quiet most of the time. They were colder than the rest of the castle, but she didn’t mind keeping the whole uniform on, if it meant she could study in peace.  
She was sitting in one of the potions classrooms, but the fire under the cauldron was not lit. She wanted to focus on the theoretic part of that specific topic, because making the potion in question was quite hard, as proven by the professor a few days before.  
Besides, they weren’t allowed making Amortentia on their own, since it was against the rules trying to make someone fall in love with you with magic. Not to mention the morals. She would have not used it of course, but breaking the rule unnecessairly wasn’t something she was comfortable with, even if she like the scent of the potion back in class.  
It had a different scent for everyone, or so the book said. She couldn’t figure out how could hers smell of anything, if she wasn’t in love with anyone at all. Actually, she wasn’t even crushing on anyone since sixth year. But it did smell of something and the thought made her blush for some reason.  
  
Luckly she was alone. Or at least she thought, until she heard footsteps approaching the classroom. She kept on looking at the door, hoping that the redness on her cheeks would fade away soon enough.  
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She had heard that voice before, and she for sure had seen her face too. Dark hair, dark eyes, serious look on her face. “I forgot my book here earlier.”  
She didn’t smile while entering the room, and she immediately started to look around the tables. Soojin did not see any book, being there for almost an hour, but that was none of her business afterall. She carried on reading, lifting her gaze from time to time to check on the girl, that looked like she had no intention on giving up.  
  
“Try looking in the closet.”  
“What?”  
“It’s where they put old books that belong to no one. Maybe they put it there by mistake.”  
She chose that place, out of all, because she wanted to study on her own. Having another person in the room was distracting enough, especially when that person wasn’t as quiet as the older thought. She wasn’t talking, but she still made a lot of noise, which cause Soojin to give up on her book for now.  
  
“Oh, there it is!” she finally said, closing the closet to look back at the other girl. This time, she was smiling. “Thank you.”  
Soojin smiled back, out of being polite more than anything. She could hear her parents voice telling her a simple smile could fix almost every problem. She didn’t actually believe them, but she still tried her hardest following their teachings. Shuhua was a new student, she probably didn’t have any friends in Hogwarts, so the least she could do was to be nice to her. Even if she didn’t need to make new friends, even if she didn’t _want_ to make new friends.  
“Did your friend Yuqi pass the selection?”  
“Yes.”  
She didn’t ask how did she know about her friendship with Yuqi. Somehow, she knew the girl was paying a lot of attention on her surroundings and she didn’t blame her. Knowledge is something that could help in a lot of situations. In her place, she would probably have tried to find out everything she could about her schoolmates.  
“Did you?”  
“Yes, I did.” There wasn’t a doubt about either of them, but Soojin couldn’t really tell her without exposing the fact that she watched her play, instead of studying like she was pretending to.  
“My name is Shuhua, by the way.”  
“Soojin.”  
Both already knew each others’ names, but the introduction seemed to fit the situation perfectly, since this was the first time they actually talked. Weirdly, it didn’t feel too uncomfortable for Soojin, that already forgot about the chapter she was trying to study before.  
  
“Do you come here often?”  
Yuqi already told her the girl wasn’t as serious as she looked from the outside, but Soojin still blinked a couple times in confusion. One thing was being funny, but actually hitting on her when they just introduced themselves? That was a little too much.  
She heard the other laugh and soon realised she was expecting a real answer. “Isn’t it a weird place to be in? I get being proud of your house, but…”  
“It’s your house too.”  
Shuhua simply shrugged, but the older got the hint right away. She moved there a month ago, she couldn’t feel like she belonged anywhere yet. Again, she didn’t blame her. Sometimes she felt like that too, even when she spent six years of her life in Hogwarts.  
“I’m here because it’s quiet.”  
She got no response except for a tiny smile, which made her think that maybe it was too weird even for her, to seek silence and solitude this much. People tried to tell her more than once that she should open up, but in the end it just didn’t feel right. She did open up, she had four other friends, but somehow it was never enough.  
“Your face turned red. A lot.”  
It took her about five minutes to pick up that the Shuhua girl was not afraid to talk her mind, a bit like Soyeon. If the Ravenclaw could be very shy at times, tough, it didn’t seem the same for the younger. Of course, Soojin straightened up in her sit at the slight accusation. She felt cornered in some way, and coming from a stranger she didn’t like it at all.  
“I’m hot.”  
“You’re wearing ten layers of clothes.”  
The older frowned, looking at her sleeves. It was true, she was indeed wearing a lot of layers, but she wasn’t hot at all. She still tried to play it like she couldn’t feel the heath jumping up her neck, raising both eyebrows at the other girl, that let out a brief laugh.  
“I’m kidding.” She then started walking towards the exit, only to turn around once she was almost out.  
“See you around then?”  
“Sure.”  
She rolled her eyes, trying to sound as uninterested as she possibly could. She wasn’t sure if it worked, because Shuhua’s smiled widened, before the foreign girl left the classroom for good.


	3. of jealousy and unpleasant encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, back with another chapter, this time with a bit of shuhua's pov too, hope you'll like it :)  
> also, did you hear our shuhua got injured? i hope she gets to rest and recover fast :(

The weather in Scotland wasn’t sunny very often and, as the first half of October came to an end, the students would take any chance they could get to spend the afternoon outside, before tha days would turn too cold or too rainy.  
The group seemed to have the same idea as everyone else, but the pins attached to Minnie and Miyeon’s chests were scary enough to drive a significant amount of their students away, which granted them a spot under a big oak near the lake. According to Yuqi, her friends becoming headgirls was the best thing that ever happened to them. Soojin didn’t mind either, but she didn’t agree out loud, because she knew Miyeon was not happy about the whole thing. She wanted the pin and she strangely liked having the responsibility, but having half the school scared of her definitely wasn’t planned.  
Minnie, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it far more than the Hufflepuff did. She made all sorts of funny faces whenever a kid, especially the younger ones, would hurry up to geta way from her. Soojin thought it was funny as well, since neither of them would actually hurt a fly, but the ability to take points away from people, or even give them a detention, was definitely enough to make them the scariest people in Hogwarts.  
As the sun was setting, Soyeon started to regret the decision of spending the afternoon in the park. It wasn’t the first time someone interrupted them to congratulate Yuqi for passing the Quidditch selection, but even Soojin could tell this was the most annoying group of people they’d encountered yet. They stole Yuqi about twenty minutes before and showed no intention on giving her back. Not the the girl seemed to mind; actually, her laugh could probably be heard in the castle as well, and her gestures said she was actually pretty comfortable with her classmates. _One_ classmate in particular.

  


“What did you expect? She’s a Gryffindor.” She, out of all people, would’ve known how to avoid stereotypes, because Slytherin was the most affected house and it did happen that she would get hurt, in the past, by mean comments about the colors of her uniform, but she just couldn’t help it. Gryffindors were, in fact, the most annoying people to ever walk on school grounds. “You give them five minutes of attentions and this is what happens.”  
Not that Yuqi was actually doing anything wrong, if not laughing at something the boy told her. Soojin could bet it wasn’t even funny, but their younger friend enjoyed being praised so much that she didn’t even notice how she was acting. She loved Yuqi, but the scene was annoying, and she could only imagine how much Soyeon wished she could punch the guy, or maybe her, or maybe both.  
“Don’t be that mean, Jin.” Of course, Miyeon tried to calm things down. But Soojin wasn’t being mean, she was just telling the truth. “Yuqi wanted to be in the team for the longest time, let her enjoy it.”  
“I _am_ letting her enjoy it, or she would’ve been floating upside down by now.”  
“What’s the matter anyway?” Minnie decided to jump in, with an amused smile on her face. Again, she was having too much fun. “I get why Soyeon wants to drown her, but what’s the deal with you?”  
“It’s not a deal, Minnie, I just don’t get why she would get all flirty just for a compliment or two.”  
“It’s just for fun, it’s not like she’s using an unforgivable curse or something.” Soojin frowned her brows, confused by Minnie’s statement. She wasn’t sure she wanted to dig deeper, because her friend’s expression said she wasn’t talking about Yuqi anymore.  
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”  
“That there’s nothing wrong with smiling at him, she’s not sleeping with him.”  
Soyeon didn’t seem to like the implication, because she turned to look at Minnie, as well as Miyeon did. They both seemed annoyed, and Minnie’s cheeks turned red, while the girl stared at the ground, tearing the grass with her fingers. “What? I said she’s _not_ sleeping with him.”  
The other Ravenclaw got distracted again when she heard Yuqi’s laugh loud and clear, but Soojin noticed that Miyeon was still staring at Minnie. Sometimes it bothered her how protective the Hufflepuff could be, but this time she was glad her friend was backing her and Soyeon up, probably because she got that the shorter one was starting to get hurt rather than annoyed.

  


“I’m going back to the castle.” Soyeon started to collect her things, shoving them inside her backpack with the energy no one would’ve believed she had until they saw it.  
Soojin grabbed Miyeon wrist once she felt she was about to get up as well to chase their friend. She knew Soyeon like the back of her hand, and if she decided to get back on her own, it was because she needed some alone time to clear her head.  
Miyeon then chose to do the next best thing, and hit Minnie’s shoulder, getting a frown in response. “What? They’re not even together! If Soyeon doesn’t get a move on, Yuqi’s gonna end up with someone else anyway.”  
Even if the Hufflepuff didn’t look happy with Minnie’s statement, Soojin knew she was right. They were so used to seeing the pair together they just assumed nothing like this would ever happen until it did. It just felt like Yuqi and Soyeon were already a couple, with their constant bickering and teasing each other, but truth was they never talked about it. They didn’t even kiss yet, because if they did, they would’ve told the others. That’s just how things were between them, they did not hide secrets from each other, and at the moment no kissing was going on for any of them.

  


The Slytherin didn’t mind the few minutes of silence that filled the air after Soyeon had left, and she was just closing her eyes, head against the tree trunk, when she heard footsteps approaching, followed by a voice that was pretty hard to ignore.  
“Hey girls, sorry I took so-” Yuqi stopped, looking around for a few seconds. “Where’s Soyeon?”  
“Uh, she said she had to study.” Miyeon wasn’t the best at making excuses on the spot, that was for sure.  
“Yeah? That’s kinda the point, we came here to study. Together.”  
Minnie raised an eyebrow, but Soojin figured she was still mad because no one backed her up earlier, so she guessed it was up to her to try and fix things. Too bad she was just as mad with Yuqi.  
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t look like you came here to study.”  
“What?”  
“Look, as much as we all loved watching you flirt with that guy-”  
“What are you talking about? I wasn’t flirting with anyone.” None of the three dared to say anything, but while the two headgirls were suddently interested in the grass under their legs, Soojin kept on staring into Yuqi’s eyes. She was losing her patience and the Gryffindor could tell, because she moved her weight from a leg to the other, starting to look uncomfortable. “I really wasn’t!”  
“He was, and you played along. And as much as you’re pissing me off, I really don’t think you’re _that_ dumb not to notice.”  
Yuqi didn’t reply, which made the Slytherin think maybe she really didn’t notice. Somehow, that annoyed her even more. She closed her book, letting out a big sigh, and quickly got up from the ground. “Look, I don’t care if you were or not. Just sort things out and fix this mess, because I don’t want you two to take turns to hang out with us.”

_____________________

Yuqi didn’t fix it. Possibily she made it worse, because she and Soyeon refused to talk to each other for the whole week.  
They did, in fact, had to take turns to hang out with the rest of them. Today, it was the Gryffindor, Soojin and Minnie that were together, while Miyeon was supposed to talk some sense into Soyeon. Of course, they all already tried it, but none of them was going to give up.  
“I just don’t get how you managed to make things worse.” The Slytherin whispered, after making sure the librarian wasn’t paying attention to them. They chose a hidden spot, one of the small tables between the shelves, but the old witch seemed to still have perfect hearing capacity and Yuqi was not able to keep a low register for long.  
“Can we not do this again, please?”  
“Again? You never told us what happened.”  
  
But, as expected, she didn’t tell them this time either. Minnie gave Soojin a worried look, but there was nothing they could do, so the Slytherin just shrugged her shoulders and carried on with her Charms assignment. Minnie wasn’t ready to let it go, though.  
“So what are we going to do for Halloween? We were supposed to go to Hogsmeade together.”  
Soojin would’ve been lying if she said she hadn’t thought about that. Since a few years before, the Halloween festival took place in Hogsmeade and had every student excited. The whole village, or the main street at least, was decorated with weebs, fake blood and all sort of creatures, the drinks and even the sweets from Honeydukes were in theme. The main attraction, however, was the Shrieking Shack.  
Soojin’s father always told her stories about that place and how for years people believed it was the home for some kind of dangerous creature. Of course, no one had ever seen such thing, but the Shack still wasn’t open to the public, except for Halloween. She herself was not a fan of haunted mansions, but her friends all looked so excited that she had to gave in.  
“Don’t worry about that, you guys can go without me.”  
“But it was supposed to be your first Halloween with us. Come one, Yuqi, you two can fix it, you still have a week.”  
“I tried, okay? But she wouldn’t believe me.”  
In Soojin’s opinion, that didn’t sound right. Of course, she knew Soyeon could be angered easily, but she also was a listener and she tried to find a common ground most of the times. She didn’t want to ask again, but she had to admit she was very curious to know how their last conversation went.  
  
“Look, it’s fine. I’m not expecting you to drop her for me. I’m not asking either. I know I’m the last one that got in the group.”  
Soojin, who pretended to be focused on her paper until now, lifted her head to take a look at the Gryffindor. “Stop right there, or I’m going to make you hang from the ceiling for real this time.”  
She might’ve sounded harsh, but Yuqi knew her good enough by now to notice the soft tone hidden in her voice. It was true, she was the last one in their group, but that didn’t mean she didn’t belong there like everyone else. They all loved Yuqi, it didn’t really matter _when_ they started loving her.  
“Jin, I said it’s fine. I’ll go with someone else.”  
That was when it hit her. Maybe that was the reason went so badly, maybe Yuqi said something like that to Soyeon, maybe in the heath of the moment she said something she really shouldn’t have.  
“With that guy?” It was Minnie who asked, but Soojin was thinking the exact same thing. It would’ve been hard to recover, if that was the case. Soyeon’s trust was pretty hard to gain, let alone to _regain_.  
“What? No! I’m going with Shuhua.”  
Somehow, that felt worse. While Minnie relaxed her shoulder, even if she still looked worried about her friend, Soojin couldn’t think properly for a good five seconds. She didn’t know the girl, yet she felt her stomach clench. The feeling was soon classified as worrying that Yuqi might rather hang out with a friend her age and eventually stop looking for their company.  
“Why?” She asked, incapable to hide the annoyance in her own voice.  
“Just because.”  
“I thought you didn’t like her anymore, since she’s your arch-enemy or something.”  
“That’s ridiculous. She plays for the other team, she didn’t kill my parents in a robbery and then left me an orphan.”  
  
She had to admit Yuqi was a master of distracting her from the main topic, because her sentence was weirdly specific and made Soojin frown in confusion. “That’s… from a movie. Forget it.” She knew the Slytherin was from a family of wizards and witches from centuries, she spent all summer trying to teach her as much muggle culture as possibile, but getting the attention of someone who was way far from interested turned out to be too hard to handle, so she gave up.  
“I can’t believe you don’t know Batman.” Minnie intruded, mainly because she felt the tension building up. “Your pureblood ass is so annoying sometimes.”  
“You know I’m not a pureblood.” It didn’t matter how many times she reminded them her family tree had muggles or halfbloods in it, they always seemed to forget she wasn’t a hundred percent pure. To be honest, there were times when she forgot as well. Living in a big house filled with magic always made her feel like she would never fit in the muggle world. She never had a TV, or a phone, which now was weird even for wizards. Not the they needed it that much, since in Hogwarts it wouldn’t work anyway, but her friends seemed to enjoy using it during winter and summer breaks.  
“My point is,” Yuqi raised her voice, which gained them annoyed looks from the students that were actually there to study. “She’s nice and I don’t want her to spend Halloween on her own.”  
“She’s weird, Yuqi. She keeps staring.”  
“She’s new, she’s just trying to make freinds. Maybe she wanted to talk to you.”  
“Why me?”  
“Why not?”  
  
Eventually, the back and forth quarreling made the old librarian lose her patience. All three of them, even if Minnie was being awfully quiet that day, were asked _nicely_ to leave the Library, and Soojin was not that happy about it. She walked away without a word, leaving Yuqi and Minnie behind, just an instant before the two of them looked at each other and started laughing.

_____________________

Shuhua was doing her best to fit in, not because she was desperate for friends or attentions, but because her father asked her to. It wasn’t easy for either of them, moving to a country where they didn’t know anyone, but he had to make that decision. Being an Auror was not easy, and his only child sometimes wished he’d picked any other job, but that was their life and there was no turning back.  
  
He felt guilty, and if making at least a friend would relieve him of a single weight, she was willing to do it. She had someone in mind, if she had to be honest to herself, but as the weeks went by, she started thinking that person was not going to be her first friend. Maybe she was not going to be her friend at all.  
She was fine either way. Yuqi was funny and friendly, and never failed to make her smile, even when it was early morning and she wasn’t in the mood. She still didn’t understand why the Gryffindor tried so hard, but she had no intention of asking for now.  
  
She thought about Halloween, while making her way to the Slytherin locker room, where the whole team was getting ready for practice. Yuqi told her the event was going to be fun, but Shuhua noticed the light in her eyes was a little less bright than usual. She also noticed her group of friends wasn’t seen together for quite a few days now, or perhaps weeks. Still, she did not ask, because it was none of her business.  
  
It was nobody’s business, but that didn’t stop people to make assumptions. Shuhua picked up everyone knew the five girls. They were, in fact, hard to miss. Two being headgirls and one being in her house quidditch team. The other Ravenclaw girl, Soyeon, she didn’t know much about, she seemed pretty reserved, but still pretty close to all of them.  
Soojin, she didn’t know much about her either, if not for the fact she liked to study in the cold, moisty dungeons. She found her interesting nonetheless and the feeling was for sure shared with a lot of other students. She heard her name quite often. She even heard her name that day, entering the changing room. Even if they didn’t bother her, she still didn’t like being the only girl in the team, it meant she was able to rarely fit in the conversasion.  
  
“Now that they stopped moving like a pack, Hui can finally ask her out.”  
They all laughed, but Shuhua didn’t look at them, so she missed the redness on Hui’s face. Changing her shoes was far more interesting anyway, it kept her busy enough not to let her intrude. She had nothing to do with this, and if that guy Hui was actually interested in Soojin, he should’ve asked her out already. Pack or not pack, which was a rude way to call a group of girls. Still, she bit her tongue.  
  
“Hey, Shuhua.”  
Thinking it was just their way to say hi, Shuhua gave them a slight smile and then went back to tying her laces. She already had her quidditch uniform on, because she didn’t feel comfortable enough to change next to six boys, even if they did nothing to made her think they would annoy her about it.  
“You’re friends with Yuqi, right? Gryffindor’s seeker.”  
She did not like where that was going, but she still locked eyes with Avery, their captain. “I guess.”  
“Did she ever mention her friend? Maybe if she has a boyfriend or something.”  
“She’s got more than one friend.” Of course, she knew right away what piece of information he was looking for, but even if she happened to know Soojin’s love life, she definitely was not willing to talk about it to a bunch of teenage boys.  
“Seo Soojin, the hot one.”  
  
Hui didn’t seem to like the comment, because he hit his friend with his fist. Clearly not hard enough, since Avery just started laughing. “I’m sorry, I can’t deny you’ve got good taste. So?”  
“You should ask her yourself.” At this point, she didn’t know who was she talking to. Hui, that looked genuinely embarassed about the situation, or the captain, who was enjoying it too much. “But I don’t think you’re brave enough, so I guess we’ll never know if Seo Soojin has a boyfriend.”  
  
Her comment seemed to impress the rest of the team, that let out a chuckle or two. Avery just smiled at her, but his amused expression was far gone. She knew what people thought of her, for the most part it was all planned. She liked giving the impression of someone shy and reserved, it was like having a hold on people who deserved to be put in their place, Avery being one of them. They never expected sharp comments to come out of her angelic mouth, which was the reason why they had such a strong impact everytime.  
“Did you hear that, Hui?” Once the brief staring contest between the captain and his seeker was over, he turned to face his friend. “You’re gonna have to ask her yourself, before she gets stolen under your nose.”  
  
Like she was something he owned. She would’ve never been able to explain how much she hated men. Or at least, most of them.  
“Now, since Shuhua decided to waste ten minutes of our time, we’re late. So move your asses and get to the field right now.”  
  
Her Quidditch carreer in Hogwarts was off to a great start, there was no doubt about it.


	4. of haunted shacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, just wanted to thank you for the nice comments you all left, i appreciate it a lot :)  
> well we could say this chapter is the beginning of the actual plot, i hope it makes you interested enough hehe  
> also sorry for any mistakes, i write and re-read it by myself so it's very likely i will miss something

The last day of October turned out to be windy and cold, even though the sky was pretty much clear. Hogsmeade’s main street was a sea of students hurring to get inside the pubs or the shops. There was a line to get inside Honeydukes, the main reason being the introduction of a new sweet that was said to be their best one so far, and everytime the Three Broomsticks Inn’s door opened, you could hear loud voices and noises of all sorts. It wasn’t the only pub in the village, but it definitely was the most popular.

As for the four girls, they secured a table as soon as possibile. Being in their last year, they surely knew other students’ habit and they didn’t want to risk the place filling up without them. They were sitting down for an hour or so, taking a sip of their butterbeers, which they were supposed to be enjoying, but truth is the overall mood was not that joyful. None of them mentioned it, but at one point they all thought about it: they usually didn’t drink, because Yuqi was still underage and they didn’t want to make her feel left out, nor they wanted to get in trouble for allowing a minor to drink in front of so many people. They did, in fact, buy drinks for her from time to time, but not when adults could see it.  
  
“Do you still want to visit the Shrieking Shack?” Minnie, who went for an intense red hair color today, asked. They all were aware how much she enjoyed Halloween, and as far as they weren’t having fun like the year before, none of them would deny her the experience.  
“I do.” Soyeon was the first to answer, supported by a couple of nodding heads. Soojin really did not want to, buti f it could make at least one of them happy, she would’ve found the courage. She wasn’t brave by any meaning, in fact last Halloween she refused to go in the Shack and just waited for her friends outside.  
It was the first time she talked to Hui, she remembered, and the day she started thinking that maybe not all the boys were as bad. He gave her his chips and kept her company until the others came back. Since that day, Soojin’s had a thing for him for what felt like the longest time, and then she didn’t anymore. He still made her smile and she still would rather spend some time with him rather than most of the people in that school, but during last summer she convinced herself that nothing was going to happen between them and she eventually grew out of her massive crush.

They were all awfully quiet, the complete opposite of everyone else in the room, and as much as Soojin usually enjoyed the silence, this one was too uncomfortable to handle. She shifted on her sit, but still said nothing. Not that she didn’t want to, but she wasn’t that good at dealing with this kind of situations.  
Out of them, Miyeon was the glue that kept everything together when some sort of drama threatened the balance of the group, but this time even the Hufflepuff didn’t find anything to say. Soojin imagined she was trying really hard not to upset Soyeon, that had the same frowning look on her face since that day at the lake.  
  
The Slytherin placed a hand on her best friend’s leg and smiled at her once she turned around. She was surpised, since they were that kind of friends that rarely show affection so openly, but she didn’t adress it. Even if she wanted to, she didn’t have the time. Their attention was drawn to the loud voice coming from the entrance of the pub. None of them needed to see the face to know who that voice belonged to, and Soojin felt Soyeon tense under her touch.  
  
Yuqi went by after smiling at them for a brief second, but soon returned to her conversation. Which, as a surprise for the four of them, was not with Shuhua like they expected. Shuhua _was_ there, but she didn’t seem like she had any intention of joining. Actually, she looked like she was far more interested in their table than anything else. She locked eyes with Soojin and, noticing the older was looking at her, she gave her a smirk. The Slytherin immediately felt the heath on her cheeks and looked around to check if someone caught her; luckly for her, her friends were too distracted by how much fun Yuqi was having with the group of Gryffindors.  
  
“Why the fuck are we this depressed if she doesn’t care at all?” As expected, Soyeon didn’t take it well. Miyeon scatched her nose, but she couldn’t find anything to say, while Minnie just nodded a couple times to let them know she agreed. Soojin stayed neutral, even though she had to admit it was pretty annoying, her mind still stuck on the moment before and on how much she disliked being so shy it was that easy to get her flustered.  
  
“Let’s go, I wanna see the Shack now.”  
“But I didn’t finish my-” Miyeon tried to protest, but Minnie hit her ankle from under the table. They looked at each other for a few seconds, then the Hufflepuff sighed. “Fine.”  
Their friendship was a lot like the one she had with Soyeon, except they knew each other far before Hogwarts. Minnie and Miyeon grew up together, so it never surprised Soojin when they could communicate so well without even speaking. She had seen it happen more than once and sometimes she had no clue what the two were saying to each other. That day she did have a clue, since the clue was pretty hard to miss.  
“Let’s go, this place is too chaotic anyway.”

_____________________________

She stood in front of the Shack for longer than she should’ve, her heart pounding at a rate that made her worry it might jump out of her chest soon enough.  
Soojin was, by any meaning, a coward. Soyeon had tolder multiple times with a playful smile, and apparently this one was no exception.  
“Oh, come on, it’s going to be fun. There are supervisors inside, it’s not like something real bad could happen.”  
If you asked her, a lot of bad things could happen. The Shrieking Shack was, in fact, shrieking. A few weird noises could be heard from the outside, and the building was waving from left to right, looking like it might fall anytime soon. Not to talk about the green flashes they could see at the windows, that mader her think of a spell people her age shouldn’t even know of.  
She remembered the look on her parents’ face when she first told them they would’ve opened the Shack to the public once a year. It wasn’t reassuring.  
  
“Come on, Jin, it’s fine.” Miyeon looked at her with her big eyes, and just like with Yuqi weeks before, she couldn’t say no.  
“We’re gonna hold your hand.” And Minnie really tried to hold her hand, but Soojin slapped her wrist before she could actually get near. She didn’t need to be treaten like a child, she just wanted for the experience to be over as soon as possible.  
She was pushed inside by two little, but at the same time unbelievably strong, hands.  
  
“Welcome to the Shrieking Shack, the scariest place in all United Kingdom.” A guy that must’ve been thirty years old gave them a creepy smile. “As soon as you cross that line, you’ll be in a no-apparition zone. You must get to the top to be able to get out. We’re not responsible for panic attacks or possible injuries. All clear?”  
_That_ was less reassuring than her parents’ reaction, but Soyeon, Minnie and Miyeon didn’t seem concerned. Actually, they all had a smile on their faces. Of course, they had been in there before, so they probably knew the guy was just selling the experience as the most thrilling and frightening ever.  
“All clear, sir.”

She would say it wasn’t that bad, but the truth was the Shrieking Shack was even worse than she could imagine. The corridor was pitch black, so dark that even Lumos could light up just the inches under their feet. Every few steps, something jumped out from the walls or grasped their ankles, causing the Slytherin to scream into Minnie’s ear. The layout of the shack was far more complicated than it seemed, and even the other three looked lost after ten or fifteen minutes.  
  
“This door wasn’t here last year.” Miyeon whispered, and as soon as she tried to open it, a ghost floated through it, making her jump. Minnie laughed and, when her best friend tried to hit her with her wand, she took a couple of steps back, followed immediately by the Hufflepuff.  
  
Miyeon was the one holding the light for them, so Soojin panicked when she couldn’t even see her own hands anymore. “Guys, stop playing!”  
She received no answer. She gulped once before trying again. “Guys?”  
“They’re just messing with you.” She heard Soyeon on her left, but this time the Ravenclaw clinged to her arm. The fact that she got scared meant this wasn’t how that trip usually went. Soojin put a hand inside her coat, looking for her wand, and once she found it, she was quick to draw it. “Lumos.” She spoke clearly, only to relax a little when the glimpse of light allowed her to see her bestfriend’s face. She was worried, Soojin understood why. 

Minnie and Miyeon where gone. The Ravenclaw and the Slytherin were the only two people in the corridor and the only sound they could hear was the wind outside the building.  
“What do we do?”  
“Let’s just get to the top, I’m sure they’ll be waiting for us there.” She sounded like she wasn’t having fun anymore.  
They proceeded carefully, but once they got to the top of the ramp, they were forced to stop.  
  
“Where are the other stairs? We can’t be at the top yet.” Soyeon frowned, but she stayed silent for a few more seconds, inspecting the wall in front of them. Soojin knew she didn’t want to interrupt her when she could almost see her thoughts taking shape. If someone asked her, she would’ve said they all are smart, but Soyeon’s mind? Soyeon’s mind processed things at a different speed everytime. Sometimes slower, sometimes faster, but the ending result never failed to amaze her best friend.  
If someone was going to get her out of there, it was the short girl with silver hair. “I don’t know. The wall looks real, I think we have get in there.” She pointed at the door on their left, that actually was the only way to go.  
  
The light of the room was on, which was a nice change. Soojin lowered her wand to let her arm rest, but she didn’t put it back in the coat, just in case. The bedroom was plain, with wooden walls and a broken bed on the side, while on the other the closet was missing a door. “There’s no exit here.” Soojin stated the obvious, hoping that Soyeon would figure something out.  
“I know.” was the answer she got. She was getting irritated by the lack of effort her friend was putting into it.  
“Fuck, I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you.”  
“Don’t.” The petite one stared firmly into her eyes, and that was enough to shut Soojin up for a moment. She could feel she was serious. “I’m not fighting with you too.”  
“I’m not trying to fight, Soyeon, but if you let me stay outside instead of-”  
“Shut up.”  
  
Of course, her statement hit the Slytherin, that visibly frowned. It didn’t matter how mad she could get, Soyeon had never told her to shut up with that tone before. “Are you serious?”  
“ _Shut up._ ” She lifted one hand, stopping Soojin from arguing any further. “Did you hear that?”  
She did, and she didn’t like it. From what it seemed to be upstairs, Yuqi sounded really scared. Or in pain. Or maybe both. Soojin’s heart started pounding, but her legs felt suddently weak. It was impossibile. They left the Three Broomsticks Inn way before the group Yuqi was hanging out with, there was no way the girl could already be ahead of them. Besides, they hadn’t even seen her go in.  
  
There wasn’t a logical explaination, but the second scream came louder than the other, and it was enough to snap Soyeon out of her train of thoughts. Without thinking about it twice, she rushed outside the room, despite knowing the stairs were missing.  
Soojin was too slow. Just as she tried to follow her best friend, the door closed shut behind her.  
“Soyeon!” She tried to scream, but she got no answer back. She hit the wood more than once, but that was useless as well. Trying to calm herself down, she took a deep breath, resting her forhead on the closed door. 

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she heard another sound, but this time it came from the same room. The sniffling became louder every second, until Soojin couldn’t ignore it anymore. Her heart was beating faster than it ever did before and then, suddently, it just dropped.  
In the corner of the room there was a little girl that she and Soyeon had missed before. She was sitting down with her arms hugging her legs up to her chest. She was crying, head buried in her knees.  
“Hey.” Soojin tried, but her voice was so broken she doubted the little girl heard it.  
Instead, the crying stopped. The girl lifted her head, and Soojin hoped she could forget looking right into her eyes. They were brown, but not extremly dark, her cheeks were puffy and wet. There was a mole under her left eye.

_________________________

“Daddy?” the little girl cried out, with an uncertain tone in her voice. She hated screaming, even when she really needed to. Her and her dad went to Diagon Alley because he had something important to do, but also couldn’t leave her home alone. She was only eight, afterall.  
  
He told her to wait outside, but a lot of time had passed and he hadn’t returned. She was an obedient girl, she always had been, but the fear made her move irrationally. She went in the store, looking carefully around. The shelves and the counters looked higher than usual, and the articles on them forced her to look down.  
  
“Dad?” She tried again, but she got no response. The place looked empty, like no one worked there. The only noises were caused by the moving objects on the shelves. She tried to look up once again and was met by an empy skull that smiled at her. On her right, a spider as big as her head locked in a cage started moving around.  
Soon enough, the little girl started running, but instead of heading towards the exit of the store, she went further in, not minding her steps. She fell, but she got right back up and kept running until she found an old closet, where she decided to hide.  
  
For some time, the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own sniffles. She thought no one was going to find her there, and she thought that she would’ve been left alone forever. That thought alone made her cry louder, loud enough to be heard.  
  
The closet door opened, but she didn’t dare to look up.  
“Baby girl?”  
She was going to be alone, surrounded by scary monsters, for the rest of her life.  
“Soojin.”

_________________________

“Soojin?”  
She felt a hand on her shoulder and immediately jumped back. When she turned around, she met a worried look, but it belonged to a pair of eyes she couldn’t read. It wasn’t Soyeon, nor Minnie or Miyeon. It wasn’t even Yuqi.  
  
She tried to ask her what she was doing there, but even if her lips parted, no sound came out of them. The little girl on the floor cried harder, catching Soojin’s attention once more. This time, Shuhua’s arm was quickly put in front of her, but she didn’t fight it.  
  
She stood back, while watching the younger self shapeshift. The child got up, but at the same time grew taller and her facial traits became sharper. Her eyes were know two puddles of black ink, so similiar to eyes that stared at her more than once it was impossible to believe it was a coincidence.  
“Riddikulus.” Shuhua’s voice was firm just like her hand while she casted the spell. It hit Soojin, that didn’t understand before. Boggarts fed of people’s fears and the Slytherin just let it, without reacting.  
  
“Are you okay?” She wasn’t. She kept on staring at the woman that was now on the floor, tied up, laughing. “We need to go, Soojin.” She put her hand on Soojin’s shoulder once more, but this time the older one didn’t push it away.  
  
She still stood there without moving a muscle and let Shuhua’s begging gaze get to her. There was something about it, just like the first day their eyes met, and exactly like that day Soojin couldn’t give a name to the feeling growing inside her stomach. “Please.” She heard the younger saying in a whisper. It didn’t come to her mind that she wasn’t the only one who had seen her biggest fear. Shuhua saw it. She felt naked, it didn’t matter she also saw Shuhua’s. She felt vulnerable, letting a stranger know something she didn’t even tell her best friend. Something she barely remembered before that very day, but that she wouldn’t forget anymore.  
  
She escaped again from her grip, just because she wanted to leave that room behind. “What are you doing here?” Her tone was not supposed to be this rude, but now she couldn’t take it back. She watched Shuhua close the door behind her, and she thought about the woman she saw inside. They looked so much alike there was no doubt it was her mother. She wondered how bad could a mother be, to become her child’s worst fear.  
“I was looking for Yuqi. She came after you when you left the pub and I didn’t want to leave her alone.”  
  
Her heart suddently stopped. If Yuqi actually was there, it meant what she and Soyeon heard before was not an hallucination of some sort. “Where is she?”  
“I don’t know. I was still looking when I found you. Why were you alone?”  
Soojin hesitated. She didn’t like how the word sounded referred to her. Alone. Even if she was, she still didn’t like it.  
“I lost them.”  
  
Shuhua just looked at her. She could see she was worried, behind that stone cold behavior, and the thought that maybe they weren’t different at all, the two of them, hit her. Soojin didn’t need a new friend, but somehow having Shuhua with her in that moment made her feel safe.  
“Let’s get out, they probably reached the top already.”  
She then realised the lights were on, and the wall that blocked them before was gone. It didn’t matter, because they they decided to retrace their steps and went downstairs instead.

Shuhua stayed by her side the whole time, even if she didn’t need to. After telling the teachers what happened with the boggart, they sat down on a bench, waiting for the rest of the girls.  
They didn’t talk about what they saw, but it still felt nice not having to wait on her own.  
“Soyeon and Yuqi like each other, right?”  
Soojin considered if she should’ve been telling her, but in the end she just smiled. They really did like each other, they were just to stubborn to admit it.  
“I think Yuqi misses her a lot.”  
Soyeon did too, Soojin was sure of it, but mostly they all missed being together.  
  
“You don’t like me, do you?”  
She was caught off guard, so she blinked a few times while trying to register what she just heard.  
“What?”  
This time it was Shuhua who didn’t answer.  
“I don’t know you.”  
“Because you don’t want to.”  
  
But, before they could argue any further, Soojin heard a popping sound not too distant, and stood up immmediately when the Transfiguration teacher appeared with Yuqi and Soyeon. They looked scared, but nothing more, just like her.  
She ran over and, without thinking about it twice, she squeezed them both into a tight hug. No one was used to this Soojin, but they didn’t complain. They started telling her what happened, their story being almost identical to hers. Yuqi being the first to encounter a boggart and Soyeon helping her right after. They didn’t tell her what they saw. Soojin didn’t either.  
  
A few minutes later, the teacher came back with Minnie and Miyeon. He told them to wait there for the principal and left in a hurry. The rest of the teachers, as far as a lot of other people, were already gathered around the Shrieking Shack, but no one got close to the group.  
“And you all got attacked by a boggart?”  
“You didn’t?”  
“No, we were just lost.” Miyeon must’ve been really scared, because she attached herself to Yuqi, but she kept looking down. Soojin even noticed her makeup was smudged, sign that maybe she cried back in the shack.  
  
When they finished telling their stories, Minnie was the first one to approach Shuhua, still sitting on the same bench. Soojin couldn’t hear what they said to each other, but after a few moments Minnie hugged the younger girl, which was clearly surprised, but didn’t back away.  
Of course, Yuqi would want to join in, and she did. Miyeon stayed there, but smiled at them widely. Soojin’s and Soyeon’s reaction was neutral, but the Slytherin couldn’t look away. Her eyes and Shuhua’s met again just as the older thought about her words.  
  
You don’t like me, do you?  
  
She didn’t know if she liked her yet. What she did know was that Yeh Shuhua was one of the most interesting and mysterious people she had ever met. 

“I’m sure you’re all tired, I promise I won’t steal too much of your time.”  
  
Professor McGonagall approached them half an hour after they got reunited. She found Minnie and Miyeon asking Shuhua a lot of questions, while Yuqi and Soyeon were talking a few inches away. Soojin was quiet as usual and she was the first one to notice the principal.  
  
“I just want to talk to all of you, starting tomorrow. You’ll receive a note in the morning with the time you can come to my office. I ask you not to be late, we have important matters to discuss. I’m afraid this was not an accident at all.”  
They looked at each other, worried about what the principal’s words could mean, but decided not to discuss it right there.  
  
“Now you shall go back to the castle and rest, I have a feeling you all could use a good night of sleep.”  
  
None of them, that night, would get a good night of sleep.


	5. of hidden secrets in the dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had this ready for like three days except for the last part lmao i'm a top tier procrastinator  
> thank you all so much for the nice comments again, i feel like i'm gonna say it in every note hahah i just didn't expect it  
> btw have you heard our girls will have a remix collab with two really famous djs? it comes out this friday, we should strem it like crazy to aim for bb200!!
> 
> ( tw: slight hint of smut i guess )

Soyeon was the second to go in. They all received different meeting hours, so she figured professor McGonagall wanted to keep a low profile as for the moment. Of course, everyone in school knew what happened at the Shrieking Shack, and by the morning rumors started spreading. It was hard to ignore them, but the Ravenclaw tried her hardest.  
  
Despite the effort, one of them really got to her, just becase teenagers could be mean even in that kind of situation. She pushed it back, staring at the door in front of her. For some reason she couldn’t find the courage to knock, she even looked back, considering going down the stairs and back in her common room.  
She sighed, thinking about how Yuqi was waiting for her, and that gave her enough bravery to lift up her hand. She knocked twice and then watched the door opening on its own.  
“You can come in, miss Jeon.”

  


Her stomach clenched. She had never been into the principal office, so her lips parted slightly in seeing how big it was. The first thing that caught her attention was the amount of portaits hanging from the walls. Each one was a wizard, or a witch, and most of them where sleeping. The one up the desk stared back at her with his grey eyes, partially covered by a pair of specs. His long, white beard moved when he smiled at her. He was somewhat reassuring, even if Soyeon could tell he must’ve been a powerful and intimidating man, when he was alive.

  


“Please, take a seat.”  
The Ravenclaw did as told, sitting on one of the chairs in front of the desk. She quickly looked at the old, dusty hat on her left, remembering when it was put on her head six years before. It took some minutes to sort her, because she apparently was also a good pick for Slytherin. At that time, she would’ve appreciated it, to be put in the same house as the girl she met on the train. Today, she just knew the hat made the right decision afterall.

  


“I’m sure you have already talked to your friend, miss Song.”  
“I haven’t, professor. Our schedules are different, I still haven’t met her today.”  
  
It was a lie. She had met her today. They spent the whole morning together, but since they were supposed to be in class, she figured it wouldn’t have been smart to admit it. Still, it didn’t make a difference, because Yuqi wouldn’t tell her what the meeting was about anyway.  
  
“Very well.” She wasn’t sure the principal believed her, but if she didn’t, she did not mention it. “I want to be frank, we still don’t know what happened.”  
Hoping they could leave it all behind their backs in a day, that made her tense up on her seat. The more she looked at the professor, the more she believed the accident would chase them for a long time in a way or another.  
  
“We believe someone put the boggarts in the shack as a distraction.” She sounded nervous, Soyeon never heard her worried tone. She didn’t like it. “While everyone was trying to understand what was happening to the six of you, something was stolen back in the village.”  
The girl frowned, visibly confused, but before she could even ask her question, professor McGonagall raised a hand to stop her. “It’s best if you don’t know. Aurors are involved now, we cannot interfere. They will handle everything from now on.”  
  
If they had to call the Aurors, Soyeon thought, the matter was far more important than the professor wanted her to believe. Soyeon nodded once in agreement, because there wasn’t much else she could do.  
“We sent a letter to your parents to inform them. For now, I wish you stayed out of trouble and focused on your studies. If we discover anything new, we will make sure to contact you.”  
Her voice was firm, but she had a tender look in her face. Professor McGonagall was strict, there were no doubts about it, but she cared deeply for each and everyone of her students. Still, Soyeon didn’t think it was enough, if she had then to cut them out like that. They had the right to know why that happened to them, out of all the students. It could’ve been a coincidence, or it couldn’t.  
  
“Yes, professor McGonagall, thank you for your time.”  
Soyeon, growing up in a family like hers, surely knew how to be polite. She faked a smile, bowing her head to the principal, and only when the old woman told her she could leave, she got up. After another greeting, she finally left the office.

  


Even if the news weren’t as bad for her personally, she still felt like she was robbed of something. What the principal had told her couldn’t be the whole truth, she was sure, and the fact that she asked her to stay out of it just didn’t feel right.  
  
She went down the hidden stairs that led to the principal office, but didn’t turn when she hear the statue going back to its previous place. Instead, she felt a couple of arms around her neck, and closed her eyes when the familiar scent got to her nose. She let it calm her down, putting a hand on Yuqi’s lower back, but soon she realised they were in the middle of the hallway and took a step back.  
  
She had nothing to hide, really, but she still didn’t like to show her personal life so openly for everyone else. She would rather hug her friends when no one was watching. Not that there was anything to watch, to think about it. Her and Yuqi did not move forward at all, even after what happened at the Shack. If anything, they took a step back. They didn’t talk about the reason why they fought in the first place, and both of them assumed they could just get back at being friends.  
  
As far as she didn’t like that someone had that hold on her, Soyeon came to terms with her feelings a while ago. She perfectly knew why the Gryffindor could make her laugh like that, and why she was the first one she’d think about when she needed comfort.  
She loved all of her friends and Soojin still had that special place, but Yuqi was different. She had that smile. She had a pair of big, bright eyes that could get her out of any sticky situation. The same eyes were looking at her in that exact moment and Soyeon felt smaller than ever.  
  
She wanted to hug her again, because everytime she looked at her, she saw the girl from the day before, scared like she had never seen her before. She tried not to think about Yuqi’s boggart, but to be actually able to forget she would have to obliviate herself. Maybe it would’ve been for the best, if they all did that to themselves. Soyeon thought about it a lot, not just because of the shack accident: it must’ve been nice not having any knowledge. Of course, the idea of forgetting was also kind of scary, but she was convinced that living without knowing some of the stuff she knew would’ve been a blessing. 

  


“I guess she didn’t tell you much either.” Passed the initial embarrassment, Soyeon nodded, almost feeling guilty for not having new and useful informations.  
“What are we going to do then?” Yuqi asked.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I can’t sit still and do nothing. By accident or not, we were involved and I-”  
“You’re right.”  
  
Soyeon wouldn’t consider herself as a brave person. Maybe that was one of the reasons she got along with the younger so well, because she lacked in something Yuqi had, and it went the other way around as well.  
“Let’s just wait until we all have talked to professor McGonagall.”  
  
Yuqi nodded, before putting an arm aound the other’s shoulders with a smile on her face. “I want to wait for them outside.”  
If she was bothered by what she saw the day before, she tried her best to hide it. She was the younger, but Soyeon had the impression she always wanted to look the tougher out of all of them. Gryffindor pride, perhaps, or a deeper reason that the Ravenclaw couldn’t think of.

_____________________________

Days went by, but none of them had an actual idea of what they could do to find out what was going on.  
They spent hours talking, hidden in corners where no one could hear a thing. They seemed to had gained a lot more popularity, being the girls that almost died, or so the students said.  
Besides, they had two players in their group, and the Quidditch season was getting closer each day.  
  
Shuhua got indeed to hang out with them a lot. What they said at first was that it wasn’t fair to leave her out, when she had experienced the same trauma as they did. Of course, Soojin always rolled her eyes at the way Yuqi and Minnie loved to be dramatic.  
  
She did not consider the happenings as traumatic. She was aware she did think about it quite a lot: in class, with her gaze wandering out of the window, during meals, while she studied, when she closed her eyes at night. She kept on hearing the cries and seeing the little girl sitting on the floor. She thought a lot about that store as well, and how she couldn’t give it a name, or place it anywhere in Diagon Alley. However, when the questions inside her head became too much to handle, she just shut them down.  
Having so much to do, it wasn’t a problem throughout the day, but every night it was always harder to fall asleep.  
  
  
Two weeks from Halloween, Soojin was sitting on the common room couch by herself. It was late and everyone else had gone to bed. The girl watched the flames in the chimney dance around for what it felt like hours, until all that was left were ashes.  
Thinking about it, Slytherin common room was somewhat creepy. Skulls were laying around as decoration, lights were always soft and the lake outside the windows gave the whole room a mystical aura, but she wasn’t sure she liked it.  
She watched a grindylow go by, but she was so used to marine creatures that she barely noticed.  
  
“How can you stay here when it’s so dark?”  
The voice behind her back made her jump more than anything. When she turned around, she was not surprised to see Shuhua standing by the door that led to the dorms. She was, in fact, just annoyed by the way the younger decided to announce herself.  
  
“What are you doing up?” She asked sharply, locking eyes with her. Shuhua didn’t look away and she raised her eyebrows instead.  
“I could ask you the same thing. You’re the one sitting there like a depressed ghost.”  
She was lucky the Bloody Baron was not around to hear her, or she wouldn’t have heard the end of it.  
  
Soojin pressed her lips together, but in the end it was her that looked away first. She had the impression Shuhua was too stubborn and could’ve kept going until morning.  
“Aren’t you cold? This is not the place, nor the _month_ to be dressed like that.”  
_Like that_ being a pair of sweatpants and a grey t-shirt. The only sound she got in response was Shuhua’s laugh, while she took a sit on the couch, next to her, even if Soojin did not ask her to.  
“I’m sorry, mom. I’ll be well dressed next time.”  
  
The older just rolled her eyes. Right now, she was deeply regretting having closed her book an hour before, because she had nothing to do to get distracted from Shuhua’s presence. Not that she had nothing to be ashamed about, but she still felt the heath running up her neck. She loved silence, but firmly hated awkward ones.  
  
Shuhua didn’t mind it as much, or so it looked like, since every time she took a quick glance at her, she still had that smirk on her lips. It was getting more annoying by the minute, and Soojin moved a bit in her sit.  
  
“Can I ask you what are you doing here or are you going to tell me to fuck off?”  
“I’m not that rude.”  
Still, she didn’t deny it. She didn't answer either.  
  
Shuhua stayed silent for a few more minutes, apparently interested in what was going on outside the windows of the common room.  
Somehow, the air became less stiff and Soojin could admit to herself she didn’t mind listening to her and Shuhua’s breath. It was relaxing.  
  
She turned around to look at the younger girl, but for once she didn’t meet her gaze. She was still focused on the lake and Soojin took the chance to study her facial traits. Since the first day, she pictured Shuhua as a sharp-looking girl, her face was longer than hers and her jawline way more defined. Still, looking from that close, she could almost tell why Yuqi thought she was trustworthy since day one.  
  
“Wanna go out?”  
  
Thinking she got caught staring, Soojin immediately looked away, but if Shuhua noticed, she didn’t mention it.  
It took Soojin a couple of seconds before she could understand the girl’s proposal and, of course, she couldn’t dare to look at her anymore.  
  
“What?” She tried to sound annoyed, but she wasn’t sure it worked.  
“Let’s go out for a walk.” It wasn’t a question anymore, and Shuhua got up from the couch. “I like walking at night.”  
“Have you lost your mind?” Soojin frowned, looking at her from her sit. “First of all, it’s against the rules. And second, the hallways are _terrifying_ at night.”  
She had absolutely no intention of following the girl.

  
  


Which, of course, she did in the end, but only because she felt responsible. Maybe she could’ve talked some sense into her along the way, and they wouldn’t have to get caught.  
“Seriously, we have to go back.”  
She ignored the paintings asking her to shut up and let them sleep.  
  
“Shuhua!” She was whispering, but her voice still echoed in the empty corridor. It would’ve been so easy for the Prefects to find them, so the third time she just grabbed Shuhua’s wrist, planting her feet on the ground.  
“We’re going to get in trouble. We could get expelled.”  
“You spend too much time with Yuqi. You’re overreacting.”  
  
She was not overreacting. She had read Hogwarts’ rules and she was pretty sure they could actually get expelled. Sure, she didn’t love going to school, but she still wanted to finish her last year and get a degree, or it would’ve all been for nothing.  
“Why are you doing this? Where are you going anyway?”  
“The Astronomy tower.”  
“ _The Astronomy tower?_ ”  
More complaints came from the walls, so Soojin shut herself up once again.  
  
“Yes, I like it. The view is nice.”  
“The view is nice.” She repeted. “And you can’t wait until daytime?”  
“What? It’s an Astronomy tower. Stars can only be seen at night.”  
  
She had a point, of course, but the reason was not strong enough to risk her whole career.  
“Do you like holding hands?” Shuhua had that smirk again, while she looked at Soojin’s hand around her wrist. “I knew deep down you were a softie.”  
  
She surely knew what buttons to press, because the older immediately let go, leaving her space to keep walking. Again, she had to follow her.  
  
They walked in silence for quite awhile, the only noise Soojin could hear was her own heart beating faster than ever and their step strangely in sync. She kept on looking at the other girl, and the thought that she actually was a bit taller than her came to her mind. It was not something to focus on, but she still did.  
They soon reached the fouth floor when Shuhua decided to speak again. They still had a long way to go, but she apparently felt confident enough.  
  
“See? No one’s going to get us expelled. I don’t think Prefects actually check at all, to be ho-”  
Her voice suddently turned off when the stairs made a loud noise and, right after, moved from where they were. Knowing her luck, Soojin should’ve seen it coming, but she still was surprised, not to mention frustrated.  
  
“This is our call to go back.”  
“Come on, stop being a whiny baby. We can take to long way around.”  
  
As she said it, she walked into the fifth floor corridor. It was less scary than the hallways in the dungeons, because the big windows let in a good amount of moonlight. Shuhua hair was usually pitch black, just like hers, but that night it had some silver here and there. It looked nice.  
  
Soojin was distracted once again, when she heard another noise. It didn’t come from the stairs this time, but from further along the hallway.  
They both stopped, trying to keep ita s quiet as possibile. The loud sigh that came after made Soojin worried and, before Shuhua could actually stop her, she walked forward. If someone was crying, or in pain, the least she could do was trying to help.  
  
  
What she saw right after, she wished she just didn’t. The image would’ve been stuck in her head for a long time and there was nothing she could do about it.  
A few feet away there were Minnie and Miyeon. The Hufflepuff had her back pressed against the stone wall, while the Ravenclaw head was buried against her neck. Everytime Miyeon let out a sigh, Minnie’s hair changed color, going from red to green to purple. Soojin knew that happened when she couldn’t control her emotions.  
Eventually, she noticed that the metamorphmagus’ hand was under the other one’s skirt.  
  
She felt dizzy at first, even guilty for intruding such an _intimate_ moment. She couldn’t think properly, so she just stood there until Miyeon’s sighs became moans, and then she couldn’t take it anymore.  
  
“ _What the fuck?_ ”  
Shuhua, that just got behind her, grabbed her arm before she could take a step forward. She watched as Minnie jumped back with a terrified look on her face, while Miyeon’s face turned as red as the Ravenclaw’s hair.  
  
They looked at each other for some time, before they could all realise what actually happened. Miyeon looked away, but Soojin and Minnie kept staring firmly at each other.  
  
“What the hell are you doing?” She knew it was pretty clear, but until the last moment she hoped in another explanation, which of course didn’t come.  
“Oh my god.” Soojin was grate Shuhua’s hands were anchoring her to the ground. “For how long have you been sneaking out like this?”  
“Stop freaking out, Soojin.”  
  
Miyeon and Shuhua didn’t say a word, but if the Hufflepuff was too ashamed to look up, the younger’s gaze went back and forth between Soojin and Minnie’s faces.  
“Stop freaking out? You’re having sex behind our backs!”  
“And? It’s not a big deal. You’re so dramatic.”  
Interesting enough, it wasn’t the first time she heard that today.  
  
“It’s just sex, we didn’t get married without telling you guys. Besides, what the hell are _you_ doing out of bed? Do you know what time is it? Are you trying to get kicked out or something? I get it, you want to go home as soon as possible, but this is way too much, don’t you think?”  
She adjusted her skirt, but the only thing Soojin could think about was that she probably used it as an excuse to clean her hand. Gross.  
  
“It’s my fault.” Shuhua talked for the first time. She didn’t have to, because Soojin wouldn’t have sold her out, but she did anyway. “I wanted to take a walk, she was trying to convince me to go back.”  
It was the truth, but somehow it felt like a lie. Somewhere between the second and the third floor, Soojin thought she didn’t mind walking next to the girl that much. At least the silence didn’t feel awkward anymore.  
  
“Look, I don’t care what are you doing. You’re lucky it was just us.”  
“Lucky?” Soojin laughed, but her eyes said she was still mad. Actually, mad wasn’t even close to what she felt.  
  
At least Soyeon and Yuqi were somewhat honest about what they had going on. They did not have everything figured out yet, but everyone could tell theirs wasn’t an ordinary friendship. She could tell by the look on their face whenever the other entered the room, or when they talked about each other.  
  
Minnie and Miyeon were always the same, since first year. Her relationship never felt different to Soojin, so it was a lot to take in, whatever was going on between them. The thought that she was the only one left out crossed her head more than once during the entire conversation, and maybe it was what kept the flames in her eyes so alive.  
  
“ _Yes_ , lucky. Anyone else would’ve told professor McGonagall.”  
Miyeon raised her head, giving her a worried look that Minnie didn’t notice.  
  
“I’m going to give you four weeks of detention, once a week, if you promise not to speak about it anymore.”  
“Are you trying to _bribe_ me?”  
“Take it as you want, I’m telling you it could’ve gone way worse.”  
“Fine.”  
She clenched her jaw, looking at Miyeon for the first time, but seeing her friend had her head that low, she sighed.  
“Goodnight.” Minnie didn’t answer, so all Soojin could do was turn around and start making her way back to the common room. She shouldn’t have followed Shuhua up there in the first place.

  
  


“Soojin!”  
“Leave me alone, Shuhua, you’ve done enough.”  
“Wait, I’m sorry.”  
  
She felt her hand around one arm, but she scrolled it right away, turning to face her.  
  
“I said I want you to leave me alone, is that so hard to understand? I don’t want you around. I don’t care what Yuqi says, I just need you to give me space.”  
Surprisingly, she could read all expressions on Shuhua’s face. She went from being confused, to being hurt, to being mad. In the end, she blocked her off completely, but Soojin thought it was better that way.  
Shuhua seemed like a lot to take in, and even if she was curious about her every now and then, she was not sure the girl was worth it.  
  
Neither said a word. They just looked at each other, but it was impossible to read their emotions. They had that in common, they could put on the most neutral face in whichever situation.  
  
Soojin kept on walking, but this time she had no intention of stopping. She needed to be alone to be able to think about what just happened. If Minnie and Miyeon told her themselves, she wouldn’t have had that reaction, that was for sure, but it would’ve bothered her nonetheless.  
  
With Yuqi and Soyeon being whatever they were, she thought she could at least lean on the other two. It was clear things would’ve changed sometime soon; once her best friend and the Gryffindor found the courage to take a step forward, Soojin thought, they would be spending a lot more time by themselves. But if Minnie and Miyeon were in the same situation, that left her and her only.  
  
That wasn’t even the worst thing. The thing that was bothering her the most was that shiver she felt down her spine when she watched the scene, and the sudden heath between her legs. 

Back in the hallway, Miyeon eventually did rise her head. Minnie looked upset, so her best friend didn’t hesitate to step forward and bring her hands to cup the other’s face.  
“You could’ve backed me up.”  
  
Miyeon laid a kiss on her forhead, then looked straight into her eyes. Minnie’s eyes were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, even when they were that angry.  
“Stop.” She whispered. “You’re not fighting with me too.” She left another kiss, this time on the tip of her nose. “You did the right thing, Jin will understand when she calms herself down.”  
“What if she tells someone? What if Shuhua tells someone?”  
“They won’t.”  
“How do you know?”  
“I trust them.”   
They didn’t know Shuhua at all, yet Miyeon had this warm, good feeling about her, like she was meant to be with them. Everytime they spent the afternoon together in the last days, she never felt like the Slytherin didn’t belong there. “You should too.”  
  
Minnie, despite feeling more relaxed after every touch, still had a guilty look in her eyes. She didn’t say anything else, but she didn’t need to talk at all in front of Miyeon.  
“You made the right choice.” She said to her with a smile, while she rested her forhead against Minnie’s. “They shouldn’t wonder off like that at midnight.”  
  
Their eyes met and for awhile the two girls just looked at each other. No sounds could be heard, but the Hufflepuff liked to stay in complete silence with Minnie. There were a lot of things they could’ve talked about, but Miyeon didn’t ask and Minnie didn’t bring them up.  
  
There were just them, no one else needed to know.  
It was just sex, afterall.  
  
“You did the right thing.” She whispered again, once she was sure her best friend would’ve believed her.  
Their lips touched right after, but it was nothing like the kisses they shared earlier that night. This one was softer, neither of them felt the need to deepen it, they just enjoyed each other’s lips for a few second, before they parted.  
  
Minnie’s hair, that were dark red since she heard Soojin’s voice, went back to its natural brown. It was Miyeon’s favourite. It meant she was relaxed enough not to think about how she looked.  
She loved running her hand through it.  
  
“Is the mood too ruined or…?” She heard Minnie ask and immediately laughed about it.  
“Yes, it’s too ruined.”

_______________________

Soojin was distracted when the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher arrived. She usually noticed, because he was a good looking man, and as long as she didn’t like to show it like some of her classmates, that didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of it.  
She just wasn’t interested enough, not when the images from three nights before were still so fresh in her mind. She hadn’t talked about it with anyone. She couldn’t tell Soyeon and Yuqi and she definitely did not want to talk about it with Minnie and Miyeon. As for Shuhua, they’ve been avoiding each other since then.  
  
“Okay, everybody get up. We are going to have a practical lesson today.” The class filled with moving chairs and whispering noises. Soojin was curious rather than excited, but still followed to push her desk against the wall like everyone else did.  
  
“The Patronus Charm is the most challenging charm you will have to cast in your school days. For some of you, it could possibly be the most challenging charm of your entire life.”  
The whole class fell silent. Soojin could feel how much Soyeon, to her right, wanted to try right away. She always loved challenges like that, for some reason she only cared to put effort in the hardest charms or potions, leaving the easiest behind.  
Even Minnie and Miyeon, behind them, couldn’t stand still.  
  
“I have to warn you: no one will succeed today.”  
Soyeon scoffed, but was smart enough to lower her head to hide it. If someone could succeed on her first try, that was the Ravenclaw.  
“You see, this charm requires something that not everyone is willing to do. Before casting the spell, you need to excavate deeply to find your happiest memory. It cannot be a simple happy memory, it has to be intimate. It has to be one of those memories you have trouble talking about, one you want to keep away from everyone else, maybe even from yourself.”  
  
No one dared to say anything yet. Soojin was suddenly feeling scared, simply because she was not one that loved excavating deeply inside her soul or whatever cheesy thing the professor just told them. She was fine not thinking about her childhood and she was sure she had no extremly happy memory to uncover.  
“Who wants to try first?”

Half an hour later, it was clear he was right. No one succeeded yet. No one was even close yet. Soyeon had the biggest frown Soojin had ever seen on her face. She held her wand like she wanted to murder someone, but there was no one to blame, so she kept trying.  
  
Soojin had given up. She tried thinking about a nice afternoon she had with her sister, then one with Soyeon, but it didn’t work. For some reason, she did not think about her father, even though she would’ve said he was her favorite person in the whole world.  
Everytime she considered picking a memory with him in it, she instead saw a little girl crying on the floor.  
  
“It’s okay, really, it’s normal that we can’t do it the first day.” She heard Miyeon say and she started nodding without even realising it. Miyeon always knew what to say. Except, of course, for when she didn’t. Soojin still had trouble looking at her.  
  
“Hey, girls.”  
They all turned around, but when they saw Hui standing besides them, the other three just smiled at him, going back to their attempts. Soojin made a note in her head to bring that up later.  
  
“Hey, Hui.”  
“How is it going? I really can’t cast the spell today.”  
She had to remind to herself he was trying to be nice, but she _really_ hated small talks. Maybe it was the reason why she grew out of the crush so suddenly, when she realised Hui wasn’t going to took a step forward and she was too shy to do it herself.  
  
“Neither can I, but I’m not trying too hard.”  
It wasn’t her plan to admit she was struggling.  
  
“I’m sure you’ll make it soon enough. Hey, uh, so-” Hui was a disaster. He made her smile. “We have our first match on Sunday.”  
“I know, everyone’s talking about it.”  
She could feel the mood switching as she saw Hui smile as well. It was more comfortable, when that awkward feeling from the start went away.  
“Are you going to come watch it?”  
“I think so, Yuqi wants to spy on you.”  
“Ah, I see.”  
  
They both chuckled.  
  
“I was thinking we could study together after the match.”  
Hui was a _complete_ disaster. Soojin looked at him while his cheeks became a bit redder. She smiled again. She couldn’t even remember when was the last time she smiled so much.  
“I’ll consider the option, but only if you win.”  
“Piece of cake, get the books ready.”  
  
She watched him go back to his friends with a smile. She was surprised, Hui never asked her to spend some time together since they first talked last year. Just four or five months earlier Soojin would’ve been on cloud nine, but the idea that the boy enjoyed her company made her feel warm and less stressed than before.  
When she remembered her friends were right there, she was even able to look at Minnie straight in the face. She still felt somewhat mad for the lies and the punishment, but she was ready to meet her halfway some time soon.  
  
“What?”  
She still rolled her eyes when she felt six eyes on her. When it came to pretend to be annoyed, she was a good actress, even though she wanted to smile like her friends were doing.


	6. of truces and quidditch matches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello luvs :)  
> i enjoyed writing this chapter a lot, i hope you'll feel the same about reading it hehe  
> i promise i didn't forget to respond to all your comments, i just say i'll do it after dinner but then i'm always too tired :( i really appreciate everyone of you that takes time to write something about the chapters, thank you so much, i swear i'll respond sooner or later!!
> 
> also, have you listened to hwaa remix? i hope we're still streaming, i want them to get bb200 so bad :((

Saturdays were for relaxing. Soojin’s Saturdays were for finishing her homework early so that she could then spend some time with her friends. When she was younger she would dance all afternoon, but she had given up that dream long ago.  
For the next weeks, Saturdays would’ve been for cleaning trophies with Shuhua.  
Minnie agreed to leave them without a supervisor, but the Slytherin didn’t know which option would’ve been worse. She couldn’t understand how Shuhua looked so calm in front of the headgirls after what she saw, considering she had known them for less than a month.  
The Ravenclaw would’ve at least made an attempt to keep the conversation going, instead of cleaning in awkward silence like that.

  


Soojin thought of Hui and how different it felt talking to him just a couple days before. She was looking forward to the next day, she hadn’t spent time with him in what it felt like forever.  
“Can I ask you something?”  
Of course, those two hours couldn’t go as smoothly as she hoped. She sighed, but kept on rubbing the cup she had in her hands.  
“You’re gonna ask anyway.”  
Soojin was scared she would ask about Halloween. She didn’t want to talk about her boggart, not to her friends and especially not to her.  
“Why did you get so mad?”  
She raised her eyebrows, giving her a confused look.  
“At Minnie and Miyeon. I get it, you didn’t expect it, but-”

  


“They lied.” She cut her off. “They lied to our faces for Merlin know show long.”  
“Maybe they just weren’t ready to tell you. Do you always tell them everything right away?”  
  
She wanted to say yes, but she couldn’t. Not because lying to Shuhua would’ve made her feel guilty, but because Shuhua knew there was something she still didn’t tell them.  
Everytime one of them, mostly Minnie and Miyeon, tried to talk about what happened at the Shrieking Shack, Soojin just avoided eye contact and hope the subject would change as soon as possibile. Of course Shuhua noticed. Her stares always burned Soojin’s skin. She made her feel uncomfortable.  
  
“It’s different.”  
“It’s not though.”  
  
Trying to understand Shuhua was almost impossibile, but the older looked at her for the first time. Sometimes she felt the need to read her expressions, but everytime she tried she was met by that distant look that made her seem unreachable.  
Funny enough, Shuhua thought the same thing about her.  
  
“You’ve talked to Minnie, haven’t you?”  
She didn’t even know why the idea bothered her so much. She was the one that told her to leave her alone not even a week earlier.

  


“No, I haven’t.”  
Shuhua, on the other end, didn’t look bothered at all. She kept on cleaning the medals, with her back against the wall, and looked at her only from time to time.  
“I talked to Miyeon.”  
That, for a reason she couldn’t understand, felt worse. Soojin frowned and, without an answer, she focused on her trophy once again.

  


“She feels guilty, you know?” Clearly, Shuhua wasn’t done. “She feels guilty for something she can’t be blamed for.”  
“Well, I’m glad she has a new friend to talk to.”  
Maybe it came out way more sharply than intended. Soojin bit her lower lip, but her pride stood in the way of the apology that was going to come out, so she could only listen to Shuhua’s sarcastic scoff. “It’s not like she can talk to anybody else about it, right? Her only friend who knows everything wouldn’t listen.”  
She would’ve liked to say her words didn’t have an effect on her, but they did. At first, she felt her heart clench. Shuhua was right, she was being an awful friend. She didn’t give them a chance to explain and she didn’t try to understand at all.

  


But, just because Shuhua was right, she also felt angry, mostly at herself. A bit at Minnie and Miyeon. A bit at Shuhua, for changing their group balance so much.  
“What would you know? You don’t know us. You don’t know _me_.”  
“Because you won’t give me a chance.”  
  
It was true, of course it was. Soojin didn’t want to give her a chance. She parted her lips, ready to tell her once again she was fine with things the way they were, but nothing came out.  
“Look, I got the message, okay? You don’t want a new friend, it’s fine, but you can’t blame me for trying with others.”  
“I just don’t get it. Why us?”  
  
Shuhua fell silent, looking like she was considering what to say. It only meant she was right, she _was_ obsessed with them.  
  
“It’s not all of you, Soojin.” The younger sighed, like she was extremly tired all of the sudden. “It was you I wanted as a friend.”  
She noticed the use of the past tense, but again she didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t used to that much honesty, and Shuhua didn’t even flinch in saying it. They were the total opposite.  
  
“But when I met Yuqi, I just liked her. And I like the others too. There’s no reason why I ended up with you, it just happened.”  
“Why me then? From day one, you just-”  
“You too, though. How else could you notice?” Shuhua got away from the wall and, after putting the medals where they belonged, she got close to Soojin. “Everytime you caught me, you were looking at me too.”  
  
Soojin felt heavy, like the truth was too much to handle, especially if the one telling it was now this close. They were face to face, only a few inches away. Shuhua was as serious as the first day she laied eyes on her, and just as mysterious. Not the romantic type of mysterious, just the type you cannot understand.  
The older felt her heart beating faster than normal, while her legs got weak. Shuhua’s eyes seemed even darker than she imagined looking from afar.  
  
“I just felt we would be a good match. And I thought you felt it too, but maybe I was wrong.”  
She was. Soojin kept telling herself she _was_ wrong.  
  
“It’s okay, I’m not crying about it.” She stepped away, and Soojin let out the breath she didn’t notice she was holding. “But can we at least get a truce? I don’t want stuff to get weird when I’m around.”  
“Fine.” Her voice cracked, but she coughed to hide it. “Fine.” She repeated right after, putting the throphy back on the shelf.  
  
They didn’t even need a truce, not in Soojin’s opinion. Ignoring each other is clearly not the same as fighting, and they never fought in front of the other girls. Actually, they never really fought, it was more like she told Shuhua multiple times to leave her alone and lost her patience when the younger didn’t listen.  
Shuhua looked happy with the answer she got, so there was no point in speaking her mind.  
  
“Are you coming to the match?”  
It was annoying how much Quidditch seemed to be important for everyone. Yuqi couldn’t stop talking about it and eventually she involved Minnie, Soyeon and Miyeon. Hui asked her if she was going to watch the match, and now Shuhua did the same. Like she didn’t have the exams to worry about.  
“Why is everyone so obsessed with this match?”  
“It’s the first of the tournament. It’s good luck if we win.”  
“Whatever. I’m coming just because I promised Yuqi.”  
She was going to watch it because she promised someone, but it definitely wasn’t Yuqi. It just was none of Shuhua’s business.  
“Good, I think you’ll be our lucky charm.”

___________________________

It turned out she was _not_ a lucky charm at all.  
First of all, it was raining. No, not raining, it was pouring. They could barely see anything from the bleachers, but Soojin heard the speaker say Hufflepuff scored another goal.

She had no idea by how many points, but Slytherin was losing. The game got very tense after more than an hour. The rain wouldn’t stop and Avery kept on screaming directions that ended up lost in the wind.  
She hoped someone would catch the snitch in the next ten minutes, because she couldn’t take it anymore.

“If they keep scoring at this pace, not even the snitch can save Slytherin.” Yuqi said and Soojin could’ve sworn she saw a little smirk on her face. Even after centuries, the rivalry between Gryffindors and Slytherin was strong, and the fact that she needed to prove herself against Shuhua, which turned out to be an excellent player, made Yuqi even more competitive.

Her friends all seemed focused on the game, or the bits of the game they could spot from there. They didn’t even notice how some of the Slytherin were watching Miyeon, part of the opponent house. Soojin did notice and stared back at them until they got embarassed.  
It was dumb, all the hate a simple game could bring out of people.

“Oh, shit.”  
It wasn’t rare hearing the younger swear, that was for sure, but her tone caught Soojin’s attention nonetheless. She focused on the field once again, just in time to see Hufflepuff’s beater hit the bludger pretty heavily.  
Following the trajectory of the ball, she noticed just too late where it was headed. Not that she could’ve done anything anyway, but she still got up quickly.  
She tried to scream his name to warn him, but in the end she had to watch as the bludger hit Hui’s stomach and how the boy fell from his broom. 

The next minutes were confusing. Everyone leaned in, trying to see what happened, and the match stopped. Soojin could feel her heart in her throat and didn’t even realise she grabbed Minnie’s arm just to stand still.  
Professor Hooch said, once things started to cool down, that Hui was already on his way to the infirmary, even though he was fine. To Soojin, being fine and being brought to the infirmary were not compatible, but she still waited.  
Now she _really_ wanted one of the seekers to catch the snitch, so she could leave.  
The match resumed once Hui substitute got in the field.

Slytherin’s mood was even lower, now that they lost the player that was scoring the most, and the gap widened even more.  
“They need three more goals to secure the win.” As soon as Yuqi said it, they saw two players go past them in a hurry.  
One of them was Shuhua.  
“Yeh spotted the Golden Snitch, the chase has begun.”

Both seekers went up, way further than what Soojin could see.  
While Avery, captain and keeper, tried to defend the hoops long enough to give his seeker a chance, everyone in the bleachers held their breaths.  
“Look!” Yuqi pointed at the clouds, that were extremely low. She was always the first one to notice what was going on, but Soojin wasn’t surprised at all.  
After a few seconds, she also saw what she was pointing at.  
It was Shuhua, appearing from above with an arm lifted up and a big smile on her face.  
“Yeh Shuhua caught the Snitch!” The speaker announced. “A hundred and fifty points for Slytherin. The game ends 290 to 270. Slytherin wins!”  
The green and silver crown bursted out in a roar, joined by a few other students, and the team quickly landed. They gathered around Shuhua, who was still holding the little Snitch, and hugged her to lift her up in the air. 

___________________________

They were very confusing and chaotic minutes, right after she caught the Snitch.  
Even though the speaker said they won, she didn’t want to let the ball go, so she didn’t. She kept it in her hand even when she couldn’t feel the ground under her feet anymore.  
Her smile was wider than it’s been since she arrived in Hogwarts. The cheering crowd made the experience even better, and for the first time she thought that maybe she wouldn’t have to just hold on. Maybe she could’ve actually enjoyed her two years in the new school.  
Of course, she already enjoyed spending time with Yuqi and the other girls, but there was something that was blocking her from feeling she actually belonged in the group. She knew what it was.  
It was the first thing she did when she opened her eyes. She let her eyes wander along the bleachers, until she found who she was looking for. The girls she was starting to consider as friends were smiling, celebrating even if Slytherin wasn’t their team. Even Yuqi looked happy. Afterall, the competition was between them two.  
Soojin was already gone. 

An hour later or so, Shuhua had already showered. She was _starving_ , given she consumed all her energies on the Golden Snitch chase.  
After practice, she usually walked to the castle alone, but this time the whole team, except for the captain, waited for her.  
“Avery went to see how’s Hui doing.”  
  
Of course she understood. Actually, she said to herself she would go Hui as soon as she finished eating her lunch.  
The cheering could still be heard, even if from afar. The majority of the students were already headed to the castle, or they were probably in the Great Hall for some time now. The ones who stayed behind all congratulated her when she walked pasta long with the team.  
It was a nice feeling, not feeling that invisible anymore.  
  
She was not affected by it or anything like that, but being the new student could be sad, from time to time. No one would actually want to talk to her, if not for a few seconds, but now something switched, she just knew it.  
She thanked each and everyone of her schoolmates, even some Hufflepuffs said it was a great last minute save. 

When they got inside the castle, a loud applause started from Slytherin’s table, before her housemates were followed by some other student here and there. A good amount of Ravenclaw, a few Hufflepuffs, maybe three or four Gryffindors.  
As far as she liked the attention, she still wished she could have lunch with the other girls. She couldn’t wait to tell them everything that went on above the clouds, since everyone already told her they couldn’t really see anything.  
  
She took a sit, smiling at Avery, who was already eating his roast beef.  
“I knew I made the right choice.”  
Even if it a compliment for himself, Shuhua still took it well. Sitting right in front of him, she filled her plate with all sorts of food, from meat to rice to roasted potatoes.  
  
“How’s Hui?”  
The captain’s smirk didn’t feel appropriate, so she frowned, confused.  
“Better than ever. He got himself a little nurse, the lucky bastard.”  
  
As soon as he said it, Shuhua knew what he meant. She quickly looked around, but what she saw was not that much of a surprise. Soojin wasn’t at the table.  
“Is he injured?”  
Shed id not care about his _little nurse_ , how Avery had called her. Avery was an asshole, by the way, but that she already knew.  
  
“He’s fine, his arm broke, nothing a potion can’t fix in a couple hours.”  
She hated herself for this, but she thought it wasn’t fair.  
_She_ won them the game. The only thing he did was getting hit by a bludger and somehow that got him the girl. Or at least that’s what she figured. She had to focus really hard to get the images of them kissing and cuddling on the infirmary bed out of her head.  
  
“Good.” She simply said, but what she felt was the total opposite.  
The thing was she _knew_ nothing could’ve happened. She got the message when she first asked Yuqi, back in September. The Gryffindor had told her Soojin wanted to focus just on her studies and then added that she didn’t think she liked girls at all.  
She should’ve stopped hoping then, but everytime she looked at her, she felt like a punch in her stomach. Somehow, it was a nice feeling. The major problem was that it seemed like Soojin was just as interested since day one.  
Like she told her the day before, she noticed Shuhua was staring just because she was looking as well. And each time their eyes met, the feeling inside Shuhua’s chest grew stronger.  
  
Until it crashed that night.  
She didn’t know how much her hopes were rising up, especially after Halloween. She was convinced that experiencing something like that together would bring anyone close, but she was wrong. Soojin pushed her away like it was nothing, leaving her alone in the dark hallway, right after following her for no reason at all.  
  
Seo Soojin was confusing, but Shuhua finally started to give up trying to understand her. They would’ve been civil with each other, but nothing more. That’s what they agreed on.  
The fact that Shuhua’s heart felt heavier until she caught the Snitch didn’t matter, because there was nothing she could actually do to fix it. The older didn’t want her, not as a friend and even less as something else.

______________________________

It stopped raining right after lunchtime.  
The school corridors were still filled with laughs and improvised songs about the seeker that saved the day. Shuhua was still enjoying it, but she started running low on energy quickly.  
  
She was sitting next to the fountain in the clock tower courtyard, just enjoying Yuqi’s side of the match once again. She told them at least three times, but she always remembered some other detail here and there and had to start again.  
  
Minnie looked like she was in pain, which made Miyeon laugh, but Shuhua didn’t mind. As for Soyeon, she was pretty sure she was just pretending to be annoyed, because everytime the Gryffindor wasn’t looking, the Ravenclaw smiled. It was cute. It reminded her that Soojin still hadn’t shown herself.  
  
“Then Shuhua went past us _so_ fast, I swear, I’ve never seen a broom as fast as hers. She started chasing-”  
“Yuqi, we were there.” Miyeon interrupted, but she still looked like she was having a ton of fun.  
“Hey!” Shuhua protested. “Let her finish, I want to hear about the fastest seeker in the world.”  
“Hold on a minute now. I said it was the fastest broom I’ve ever _seen_. I can’t see myself when I’m flying, but we all know I’m faster. You can take second place, I don’t mind.”  
“Sure, go ask the whole school, let’s hear what they have to say.”  
“Damn, your ego grew a bit too much.” It was probably the first time Soyeon joked around with her.  
  
She didn’t know why, but she always had the impression Soyeon didn’t like her for some reason. Perhaps, that was how she was with every stranger, but Shuhua couldn’t help feeling intimidated. She was happy to see the Ravenclaw smiling at her like that, just as Yuqi put on a grunge.  
She already learnt the Gryffindor was easly offended, but it was still funny to her.  
  
“Just because they haven’t seen me yet. I’m going to catch the Snitch right under your nose when we face each other.”  
Shuhua just laughed, which made the other one even more upset. She was sure it had something to do with Soyeon, Minnie and Miyeon laughing along instead of taking her parts.

“Merlin’s sake, Yuqi, I could hear you complaining from the fourth floor.”  
They fell silent for a few seconds, while watching Soojin stand in front of them. She didn’t smile, too busy annoying Yuqi, but Shuhua could tell right away she was in a good mood. She hated it.  
  
“Ah, look who decided to show her face.” Minnie was already having fun teasing her, probably happy she had something to get back at her. “Were you too tired of smooching all day?”  
“Shut up.” Despite having the chance to properly respond, she didn’t mention what she and Shuhua saw that night. Soojin was a good friend, which made it even worse.  
She didn’t even try to deny the smooching part.  
  
As Shuhua lifted her hand down, she felt Yuqi’s hand on her shoulder.  
The teasing went on for awhile and, even though Shuhua smiled along, she never looked at Soojin straight in the eyes.  
She barely said anything, just a brief comment here and there, not to attract attention on herself.  
She was supposed to be on cloud nine. Instead, those were the longest minutes of the whole week. Not even the anxiety she felt before the game could compare to this.  
Not that she wasn’t in love with her or anything like that, but she _did_ feel a lot just by looking at the girl. 

None of it was planned. The first day of September, right before jumping on the train, she promised her father she would’ve focused on school, but also on making new friends. He always worried too much about her social life, but she could see why. She was never the same since her mother passed away four years before.  
She had friends in Mahoutokoro, quite a few of them actually, but she didn’t manage to keep any of them close. She wanted to be left alone for the longest time, she refused to go to school for months, cuddled up under her blankets in the dark of her room. In the end, when she came back, no one actually understood.  
They felt sorry for her, they smiled at her, but her friends weren’t her friends anymore.  
  
When she found out her father had a big case on his hands and she had to transfer school in order to follow him, she wasn’t sad, nor happy.  
She hoped she could start over, but she didn’t anticipate the moment when her eyes meet Soojin’s and she started wanting to make a friend _for real_. Not just because she wanted to fit in or she didn’t want her father to worry too much. She wanted to be Soojin’s friend at least. Why her, out of all people, she will never know.  
That didn’t go to plan either, but if she ignored the noisy monster growing in her stomach, she was still happy with the outcome. She was starting to know four other girls and they all seemed pretty amazing. Mostly, they seemed actually interested in her.

“Shuhua?”  
She came out of her thoughts when she saw a hand waving in front of her eyes and she blinked a few times right after. She looked confused, noticing the girls were all looking at her.  
  
“I said,” It was Soojin who called her and Shuhua was forced to look at her in the eyes for the first time. She felt like someone just punched her in the middle of her chest. “Congratulations, you played well.”  
So well she couldn’t even wait five minutes before leaving.  
“Yeah, thank you.”  
She quickly faked a smile, but soon enough she turned around so that she didn’t have to keep making eye contact with her.  
She couldn’t see how Soojin looked at her, nor the confused look the others exchanged.  
  
“Jin, sit down.”  
Without even question Soyeon’s tone, the Slytherin did as told. Shuhua on the other end was pretty interested and took immediately the chance to look at the Ravenclaw. At least she could say she had something to focus on.  
“My dad talked to McGonagall.”  
  
She didn’t have to pretend she was interested anymore, because for the moment she completely forgot Seo Soojin was even there.  
“She didn’t say much, but he thinks the thing that was stolen is some sort of dark artifact. He said there is - _was_ just one thing like such in all of Hogsmeade. Apparently there was a negotiation going on between our Ministry and the chinese one, so their Aurors are involved too.”  
  
Shuhua’s heart dropped. She felt a big grip in her throat, but she couldn’t let them see how her expression changed in a single moment. Luckly they were all still focused on Soyeon.  
She knew. Of course she knew. Her father got the letter three days after Halloween, he _had_ to tell her. She got accidentally involved in the case he moved to England for.  
They never talked about his job, most of the intels were top secret anyway, but generally speaking he always wanted not to think about working even at home and Shuhua was absolutely fine with it.  
When the week he sent her a letter saying he was going to be in Hogsmeade for their next trip and that it was better if they pretended they didn’t know each other, she didn’t question it.  
Now she felt stupid, knowing she could’ve gotten more just like Soyeon did. 

“Are you okay, Shu?”  
“Uh?”  
“It’s the second time you black out on us.”  
  
She wished she could’ve told them, but her father’s job was way more important than her attempts to keep that friendship solid. With a good amount of luck, they would’ve never found out Auror Yeh was on that case.  
  
“Sorry, I’m a bit tired.”  
“It must be heavy carrying the whole team on your back.” Minnie said, showing her front teeth with an amused smile.  
“Stop boosting her ego, it’s already bad as it is.” Of course Yuqi had something to say about it, which made everyone else laugh.  
Even Soojin let out a scoff, but Shuhua still didn’t want to look at her, even though the sound made her feel a weird type of warmth in her chest.  
  
“I’ll let you know if he finds out anything new anyway.”  
The idea that Soyeon’s father must’ve been an important figure crossed Shuhua’s mind. There was no way he could’ve known all those details if he wasn’t.  
  
“Sure, okay.” Shuhua got up, yawning. It surely was just an excuse, but now that she mentioned it, she was starting to feel actually tired. “I’m going to sleep.”  
“It’s only six, you haven’t even eaten yet.”  
She smiled at Miyeon’s attempt to make wait until dinner. It felt good having someone who worried about her like that.  
“Don’t worry mom, I’m not hungry. I’ll go check on Hui first anyway, maybe I can steal some of his hospital food, I’m sure he won’t mind.”  
  
No one said it out loud, but the comment about Soojin and Hui could be almost felt in the air and, mostly, in their smile. Except for Yuqi, who was looking at her with her big, brown, puppy eyes. It was unbelievable, how much a pair of eyes could make you feel, even with no romantic feelings involved.  
“See you tomorrow?”  
They all said yes. Shuhua laid her eyes on Soojin’s face and found out the older was already looking at her. She did not tease her about it.  
Instead, she turned her back at them and started walking towards the castle.  
Perhaps, she thought, crying would make her feel better.


	7. of love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm once again ignoring my academic duties to update this fic :')  
> but i'm enjoying it way too much so yeah...  
> almost as much as i'm enjoying reading all the theories in the comments hehe who knows if someone got stuff right...
> 
> ( tw: smut, you can skip the first scene if you're uncomfortable with it! )

Miyeon loved early mornings.  
  
She loved waking up and finding out Minnie was still asleep. Her lips immediately went to form a smile. Minnie looked so peaceful, she almost didn’t want to wake her up.  
The problem there was that they were breaking a ton of rules, some of them being not sleeping in her own bed, entering another common room, sneaking out of hers in the middle of the night. Considering she was the Hufflepuff headgirl, it became ten times worse.  
  
She knew they shouldn’t have done that, but every time Minnie looked at her and asked her to sleep in her bed, she just couldn’t say no. Her best friend was addicting and it wasn’t just the sex per se, it was also what happened before and after. It was the feeling of Minnie’s lips on hers, the smile she always found when they parted. It was Minnie falling asleep with her head on her chest because she liked hearing her heartbeat, like she once told her.  
Every single detail made Miyeon want to break all the rules in Hogwarts rulebook for the Ravenclaw.  
  
She almost stayed, that morning, but then she remembered Minnie’s roommates were there and they would have been waking up anytime soon.  
With a pout that made her chin skin all wrinkly, Miyeon pulled herself up so that she could lay a kiss on Minnie’s bare back. Then another one. Soon enough, she was tracing back every inch of her skin, tanner than hers in a way the Hufflepuff loved way too much, until she got to her neck.  
She kissed her there too, getting to the back of her ear next. She smiled against Minnie’s skin when she felt the girl was starting to move.  
  
“I have to go.” She whispered.  
“No.” Minnie whined. “Stay.”  
From her voice it was clear she was still half asleep, which made Miyeon’s smile grow wider. She loved being the only person who was allowed to see the cutest part of her best friend.  
  
Because Minnie always acted cool in front of other people, she even flirted with other students, which caused a few arguments between them in the past months, but when there were only the two of them, that was her favorite Minnie.  
“We have classes.”  
“We’ll skip.”  
Hufflepuff were usually very observant of the rules, except for when a cute girl messed completely with their heads.  
Still, Miyeon knew it wouldn’t have been smart to skip classes without a reason, not on their last year.

She kissed her ear again, only to tease her lobe with her front teeth right after. She felt Minnie slowly regaining her senses and, after very few seconds, the Ravenclaw turned on her side to look at her.  
  
Miyeon couldn’t think straight. They were close, in front of one another, and the room was almost pitch black, except for the little moonlight that went through the window and the bed courtains, but her eyes got used to the dark just enough to let her see Minnie sleepy eyes and, inches below, her bare chest.  
She was beautiful. Miyeon thought she would never see a girl as beautiful as Minnie.  
  
“Stay.”  
It wasn’t fair. It was already hard enough saying no to her when she was fully dressed, so when she was laying naked, with a blanket that covered only her lower body, right in front of her it as an almost impossible challenge.  
  
“Min.” She whispered, but before she could add anything else, Minnie got even closer and laid her lips on Miyeon’s shoulder. “Minnie.” The Hufflepuff tried again, but the attempt was too weak to count. Minnie knew exactly what buttons to push, reason why her teeth leaving a mark on the same shoulder shouldn’t have surprised Miyeon, even though they did.  
She let out a sigh, putting a hand in Minnie’s already color changing hair. She knew her inside-out, Minnie wouldn’t have let go and Miyeon wasn’t sure she wanted her to anymore.  
  
For example, she did not complain when Minnie went to kiss her neck, adding her tongue to leave a mark where it would’ve been difficult to hide it, nor when she pushed her on the mattress so that she could lay on top of her.  
Her lips started leaving a trail of kisses down her chest, reaching then her stomach, but going back up right after. Miyeon felt her smile against her skin, before Minnie went to cup her nipple with her lips. She couldn’t hold a moan, but she still tried to suffocate it biting her own lips.  
  
“We didn’t use the silencing spell.”  
Minnie didn’t seem to care that much, because she added her teeth to the mix, aware that her best friend’s mind was already foggy enough to forget about the spell in a couple of seconds.  
“You just have to be quiet then.”  
They both knew she couldn’t, but Minnie looked thrilled about the situation. Just as she lifted her head up to meet Miyeon’s watery eyes, she gave her a smirk she’d think about for hours.  
  
The problem there, that wasn’t an _actual_ problem, was that it was rare for Minnie to take the lead like that. It usually worked the other way around, with the Hufflepuff being the second one to go. She never complained, she actually liked having that hold on her friend, but that morning’s switch-up made her forget all about silencing spells, sleeping roommates and classes to attend.  
  
As expected, she wasn’t quiet at all, at the point Minnie had to put her hand over her mouth to stop her from moaning even louder, while her other hand worked between her tights, her three fingers sinking deep inside Miyeon just to be pulled out all over again.  
  
As the pace got faster, Miyeon let out a moan that even Minnie’s hand couldn’t hold back. She heard the Ravenclaw’s slight laugh and then felt her lips next to her ear.  
“Shh.” It sent a chill down her spine, while her walls started tensing up.  
  
Minnie pulled her head back, but she didn’t meet Miyeon’s eyes, that were closed shut. Her lips were parted against Minnie’s right palm and, without even thinking about it, she lightly bit her, while grabbing her left arm as an invitation to go faster.  
Minnie was a fast learner, especially when it came to what her best friend’s gestures tried to say, but the fact that she sped up almost immediately still took Miyeon by surprise.  
  
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.”  
  
The Hufflepuff’s mind didn’t register what Minnie had whispered right away, but once it did, she opened her eyes to meet her gaze. Their foreheads were touching, so she couldn’t see her full expression, but the way her eyes were shining was enough to get her to the turning point.  
Her walls closed around Minnie’s finger and, as she reached the best climax she ever experienced, she let go one final moan, to Minnie’s delight.  
  
The Ravenclaw uncovered her mouth in order to give her a sloppy kiss and after thirty seconds or so had passed, she retraced her left hand. She brought it to her own mouth and put her lips around her three fingers, looking at Miyeon right in her eyes the entire time.  
She felt cold sweat running through her neck. She had never seen anything more attractive than what Minnie just did.  
  
She let her finish, but as soon as her fingers were outside her mouth, they were replaced with Miyeon’s tongue. The kiss immediately heated up, but when the Hufflepuff tried to get up and switch position, she was pushed back on the mattress by Minnie’s hand.  
“I’m fine.” The other whispered, before kissing her again for a brief moment. “Let’s just go back to sleep.”

They got woken up an hour later by Minnie’s roommates getting ready for classes.  
Neither of them said a word, but every time they looked at each other, their lips trembled and it was pretty hard holding the laugh back.  
They managed in the end, and only ten or more minutes after the girls all left, Miyeon scoffed.  
  
“What?”  
“I didn’t think there was someone that could sleep as deep as you.”  
Minnie pinched her side in response, making her jump, but she grabbed her right after.  
  
“Wanna shower together?”  
Miyeon laughed, because that additional hour of sleep seemed to have given Minnie all her energies back. She, on the other end, didn’t want to leave the bed straight away, so she put her arms behind Minnie’s back to keep her close.  
  
They stayed like that for what it felt like forever, Minnie listening to Miyeon’s heartbeat and Miyeon enjoying Minnie’s breath against her skin.  
“We should tell Yuqi and Soyeon.”  
Minnie raised her head and, as expected, showed her a confused frown.  
“They’re the only ones that don’t know, I feel bad.”  
“Soojin and Shuhua know about it only because they were nosing around.”  
“Still.”  
“It’s none of their business.”  
“They’re our friends.”  
“ _Still._ ”  
  
Miyeon sighed, but before the argument could turn into a fight, she let it go. She didn’t like keeping such a secret, but she liked even less not talking to Minnie for days.  
It happened before, for the same reason. It happened over and over again, since whatever that was went on for months. It was June when it first happened. They were drunk, they kissed, they liked it. Days later they were sober, they kissed, they liked it even more.  
  
Miyeon thought it meant something at first, but for once her and Minnie weren’t on the same page. The Ravenclaw wanted to have fun like she told her multiple times, so she shouldn’t have been surprised when she saw her flirting with someone else. She was surprised the first and second time. The third time she got mad, even though she didn’t really have the right to.  
  
They stopped fighting about it, but Miyeon threw a bone here and there to see if something had changed, like that time Soyeon got mad at Yuqi for flirting with that Gryffindor guy. Nothing had changed.  
“Can we not do this at seven in the morning, please?” She heard Minnie ask, and as long as she knew they had to do it sometime soon, she still smiled at her.  
“You were talking about the shower…?” Which of course was distracting enough.

_________________________________

Soojin woke up in a good mood. It was the fourth day in a row she had woken up like that. Her friends made sure to tease her about it and they weren’t completely wrong.  
Their imagination went way further what actually happened in the infirmary, but she never bothered to tell them.  
Her and Hui never kissed, but they did chat a lot. Soojin even opened up about the Halloween events, but she purposely left out her boggart form, because she wasn’t comfortable enough talking about it. She told him professor McGonagall wouldn’t give them any information, then he made a not-so-nice comment that made her laugh.  
  
He also told her he didn’t like Quidditch that much, but since it was important to his father, he still joined the team.  
It felt refreshing, talking to someone who wasn’t in her usual group. It made her think that maybe she was too harsh on Shuhua. That’s why she complimented her in the courtyard, but the response was not the one she expected.  
Shuhua barely looked at her the whole time.  
She didn’t care that much, but she found herself thinking about it a lot the next few days. She found herself thinking about it even now, sitting at the back of the Transfiguration classroom.  
  
She turned to look on her right, where she saw Soyeon had a lost look on her face. The moment right after, she was blushing, and Soojin rolled her eyes.  
Something must’ve happened with Yuqi. On other circumstances she would’ve let it go, but since she was in such a good mood, she smirked.  
  
“Why can none of you keep it in their pants?”  
“Uh?” She looked even more confused.  
“Come on, look at your face. What happened? You… held hands or something?” Knowing the pace their relationship was moving to, that had to be it.  
  
Soyeon hit her on her shoulder, putting on a grunge.  
“Ah, that must be it.”  
“No! It has nothing to do with Yuqi.”  
  
Soojin couldn’t let the chance slip away from her, so she smiled even wider.  
“I never mentioned Yuqi.”  
That shut the Ravenclaw up for a good minute, but rather than flustered, she looked thoughtful. More than usual that is.  
  
“I heard something this morning.”  
  
Soojin’s best friend glanced at the two empty desks next to them, then she blushed again. Before the Slytherin could ask what was that all about, Mrs. Price – the old, _old_ Transfiguration teacher – stood in front of them.  
  
“Seo and Jeon, perhaps you want to share with everyone else what is it that you find more interesting than my class?”  
“We were discussing the subject, professor, we’re really sorry.” Soojin politely replied, bowing her head as an apology.  
They didn’t speak again.  
  
Before she tried to focus on her schoolbook, she saw Hui turning around just to smile at her with an amused look on his face.  
She smiled back.

_______________________________

Minnie and Miyeon decided to show their faces around lunchtime. They looked extremely happy and relaxed, and considering they were nowhere to be found all morning… gross.  
It would’ve been fine if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, but the images wouldn’t leave her head every time she looked at them, especially knowing what they were busy doing until now.  
  
“I thought you were both dead.” Yuqi lightly said with a smile, before looking back at the pages she was holding. Quidditch schemes or something like that. The Gryffindor was sitting on the stone bench, with a leg sticking out and the other against her chest. Shuhua was sitting on the other side, back against the wall. The other four were standing around them.  
  
“Miyeon wasn’t feeling too well, so I kept her company.”  
Sure, she wasn’t feeling too well. She looked fine to Soojin. Actually, she looked better than ever.  
“Ah, stay away from me then.” Yuqi threatened, pointing her finger at them. “I can’t get sick, my first game is a week away, I have to practice.”  
They knew her first game was a week away, because she literally wouldn’t shut up about it, but they also knew she needed to talk about that match, so they didn’t complain.  
  
Soyeon was awfully quiet, but as soon as Soojin tried to make eye contact and understand what was going on, she looked down.  
It was getting annoying, having the girls avoiding to look at her for more than two seconds.  
  
“I bet you won’t even catch the Snitch.” Shuhua teaser her. She got a kick on her left leg in return and she even whined about it, but it just made everyone laugh. She was pretty cute, once you started to know her. The whole school seemed to have the same opinion, Soojin noticed. Not only a lot of students constantly tried to talk to the new girl, but even from afar they still looked at her.  
  
Proof came about five minutes after, when a group of five students stopped to say hi. She couldn’t think of their names, but she did recognize the three girls; they were Minnie’s and Soyeon’s roommates.  
For some embarrassing moments, it almost looked like none of them were there except for Shuhua. They even invited her to study with them that afternoon, which was pretty rude, if you asked Soojin. Her group of friends was there, after all. The thing that surprised – and annoyed – her the most was the fact that the younger said yes without even thinking about it.  
  
She bit her tongue, since it wasn’t her place to say anything, not after rejecting the girl’s attention for months. Besides, she shouldn’t really care, she also had to study with someone else, but that came to her mind way after getting annoyed.  
  
“Bye guys. See you later, Shu.”  
_Shu_ , like they knew each other since they were three. Some of the students in that school were absolutely ridiculous for how much they cared about popularity.  
She had no time to think about it though, because what happened next was so far the most bizarre thing she had seen that day. The three Ravenclaws looked at Minnie, then at Miyeon, then at each other, before they started laughing while walking away.  
  
It left them all speechless. Soojin raised her eyebrows, ready to chase them for whatever that was and _maybe_ cast a spell on them. Nothing major, she could’ve just dyed their hair the same color as Minnie’s in that exact moment; a bright red, matching Miyeon’s cheeks.  
Soyeon coughed, but still didn’t dare to look up. For the first time, Soojin and Shuhua’s eyes met.  
  
“What was that?” Yuqi, who wasn’t as focused on her schemes as they thought, was the first one to speak.  
“Nothing!” Miyeon replied, but her voice was way too high-pitched for it to be true.  
Minnie looked resigned. She parted her lips, but Soojin had no idea if she wanted to come up with another excuse or tell them the truth.  
  
“We – heard.” Soyeon mumbled and Soojin just knew how she would’ve preferred to be literally anywhere else, even in her cold, quiet manor. Everywhere would’ve been better and she certainly did not blame her. She also was embarrassed, putting the pieces together, while Yuqi just seemed more confused than ever.  
“Heard what?”  
  
Miyeon grabbed Minnie’s arm, but none of them really knew what to say.  
“ _Heard what?_ ” The Gryffindor repeated. They all knew how much she hated being teased about something and then being left out like that. She got impatient very quickly.  
  
“Us.” Miyeon’s voice was shaky, but she ignored Minnie’s glare and went on. “Having sex.” It could barely be heard, but Yuqi was able to read her lips. She thought about it for a moment, then she opened her mouth widely, just to cover it with a hand right after.  
  
“You?” She pointed at the Hufflepuff, then at the Ravenclaw. “And you?”  
Song Yuqi was not discreet at all, which caused Minnie to widen her eyes. “Can you _please_ keep it down?” She definitely wasn’t enjoying herself.  
  
“Oh my god.” The younger whispered, now smiling. “That’s great!”  
“What?” It was Miyeon’s turn to be confused.  
“I knew the way you looked at each other –”  
“It’s not like that, Yuqi.” Minnie didn’t even let her finish, but the Gryffindor was not convinced at all.  
“Yeah, sure, it’s not like that.”  
  
The whole situation was kind of hilarious. Miyeon was lowkey panicking, Soyeon still couldn’t look at them, Yuqi and Minnie were arguing back and forth.  
Soojin couldn’t hold back a smile anymore and, as she turned around, she noticed Shuhua was struggling as well. As soon as they looked at each other, they both knew it was all over. They burst in a laugh that made everyone else silent.  
  
“What’s so funny?” Minnie sounded irritated and Shuhua, in response, locked her lips together.  
“Stop being so defensive, it’s just funny seeing you argue like that.” Soojin took a step ahead, so that she could look at both Minnie and Miyeon in the eyes. “We don’t care what you do, as long as you don’t do it while we’re sleeping next to you.”  
  
Which they already did, Soyeon made her notice with a coughing sound. Soojin closed her eyes for a second, suppressing another laugh.  
“You didn’t say that last week. You kiss a boy once and you go full soft on us? Cute!” Minnie was trying to get on her nerves and she was pretty good at it, she even pinched her cheek before Soojin slapped her hand away.  
  
“Wait, Soojin knew?” They should’ve seen it coming. Yuqi never liked being late to the party.  
“Yeah, because she had the brilliant idea of going on a midnight walk with Shuhua.”  
  
Now the Gryffindor definitely had forgotten all about Quidditch.  
“ _Shuhua?_ Shuhua knew too?” She started to pout, so Shuhua tried to peek her leg with a foot.  
“Why am I always the last one to know stuff?”  
“It’s not like we told them. They all found out ‘cause they can’t mind their business.”  
  
Minnie didn’t seem that bothered anymore, but Miyeon fell awfully quiet.  
“Our business?” Soyeon’s eyes were wide open. “I was sleeping! It’s not my fault you’re so damn loud. Honestly, it’s a miracle that the whole school didn’t hear you.”  
  
It could’ve gone on for hours, knowing the girls in question, but Soojin was quick enough to interrupt the argument before it got worse. “Whatever. Can we go to lunch? I’m starving.”  
  
They did go to lunch, so they had to part, each of them at their table. Soojin sat down next to Hui, who looked pretty happy to see her. Shuhua sat down in front of her, but never looked at them once. Instead, she got involved with whatever their housemates were discussing, and they certainly were more than glad to have her there. She became some sort of celebrity among the silver-green students.

_________________________________

“Can you believe it? She got mad because I told Lia there’s nothing serious between us.”  
  
That Saturday, Minnie decided Soojin and Shuhua needed a supervisor in sorting the school archive. The job would’ve been painful even using magic, but doing everything without casting spells was straight up torture, let alone having to listen to the Ravenclaw’s rants in the meantime.  
  
“Unbelievable.” Soojin said, but her tone blatantly sarcastic. “How can she get mad at you for talking about her like she’s just some random girl you met at a pub, right?”  
“Wha – it’s not like that! We talked about it, we agreed it was just sex.”  
“For a Raveclaw, you’re pretty dumb.”  
  
Shuhua laughed, looking back at them. She was currently standing on a chair, trying to reach the highest shelf. Soojin sighed, suppressing the need to put a hand behind her back to prevent her from falling.  
  
“Look.” She grabbed her wand, taking for granted Minnie was distracted enough to not complain about the spell Soojin used to make the box float from the shelf to the table. “I hate to break it to you, but _just sex_ is not possible for close friends. It’s like Yuqi and Soyeon decided to have just sex, it sounds ridiculous. And you and Miyeon are close to a next level, you’re basically already married.”  
  
The three of them stayed silent for some moments, while Shuhua came down from the chair adjusting her uniform's skirt. She didn’t thank her out loud for helping, but she still smiled at her. In the last few days, she could read the girl even less than usual, and she always found it a difficult thing to do, trying to understand her. Since they declared the truce, she seemed to have actually given up trying to befriend her.  
It was what she asked, yet it did not feel right not being able to meet her eyes often as she did before.  
  
“Do you think I should end this? I don’t want her to get hurt.”  
Soojin put the files back in the box without putting them in order – after all, there was nothing wrong if the headgirl didn’t notice, right? – and took a few steps forward to get to where Minnie was sitting. She bent down just enough so that their faces were on the same height, then she smiled at her.  
  
She didn’t notice how Shuhua stopped working as well just to look at them.  
  
“Just talk to her, okay? Ask her if she’s really fine with this. You know her better than anyone, you’ll know if she’s lying.”  
  
Minnie looked worried and, just as she did when no one else was watching besides her friends, she stopped trying to hide her emotions. It was a raw, honest Minnie she was looking at. To let Shuhua see her like that, she must’ve really trusted the girl. Shuhua was officially a close friend of theirs, but Soojin had missed out when it happened.  
  
“I love her.” The Ravenclaw whispered.  
“I know.”  
“But I don’t think I love her like _that._ ”  
Soojin bit her lower lips, running a hand through Minnie’s blonde hair.  
  
“I know.” She whispered in response, leaning to leave a kiss on her friend’s forehead. “You won’t hurt her, just be honest. Miyeon is tough, she won’t let a fuckgirl break her.”  
Minnie scuffed, hitting her on her stomach. “I’m not a fuckgirl.”  
“Yeah, whatever. Just be sure to keep your distance, in case she wants to punch you like she did with that Malcom guy.”  
As expected, Minnie laughed recalling the little incident, as they liked to call it. While Soojin kept on gently caressing her hair, they heard Shuhua speak after a while.  
  
“Wait, what?”  
They both turned to look at her with a smile on their faces.  
“Malcom is a douche that graduated last year. He once tried to take a polaroid under Soojin’s skirt, but Miyeon saw and she punched him right on the nose.”  
  
“She got detention for two months and fifty points deducted. Hufflepuff lost the House Cup because of her that year, but she still thinks it was worth it.” Soojin added, while her smile got shy. She felt guilty, even though Miyeon always told her not to.  
  
“It’s impossible to get bored with you, isn’t it?”  
“You can still pull back if you want.”  
“You wish.”  
  
Soojin looked at the confident smirk that formed on Shuhua’s lip, almost glad to see the girl that was making fun of her in the potion classroom once again. Perhaps she was imagining things, the younger wasn’t mad at her for some unknown reason. At least, it didn’t seem like it in that moment.  
  
“Okay, I’m getting bored here.” Minnie was put in a good mood, or at least good enough to stand up and stretch her arms. “I think you can handle this on your own, I have stuff to do. You can go whenever you finish with the files.”  
  
Soojin decided to shoot her shot, it wouldn’t hurt anyone after all. “Let’s say we used a little spell…”  
“I wasn’t here. I saw nothing.”  
Just like that, Minnie left the room. Her whistle could be heard for some seconds, until it faded in the distance.


	8. of memories and reveals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me tell you, this chapter was kind of a pain to write and i still don't know how i feel about it  
> i don't want to spoil so i'm gonna leave notes at the end
> 
> ( tw: mention of death, child injury )

The first week of December went by quicker than expected and, as the weekend was closing up, Yuqi became more tense each day. She tried to play it cool, but she wasn’t one to hide her emotions that easily. They all tried their best to distract her from the upcoming match, but she still took any given chance to go practice, even on her own.

Soojin was thinking about her, trying to find something to cheer her up, and she got lost inside her head for so long that she didn’t even notice the ink dripping from her quill until she heard a coughing sound.  
“Are you planning on ruining all your papers or…?”  
Hui was looking at her with a smile on his face.  
They were sitting in the library, as far as possible from the main tables. Soojin was usually quiet, but she still didn’t like the librarian coming at her because she had something to say to the boy. 

“I got distracted, sorry.”  
“You don’t have to apologize. Is everything okay?”  
“I’m fine. It’s just –”  
She wondered if she should’ve been talking about it with Hui, the chaser of an opponent team, but she knew he was trustworthy. That Hui wasn’t the same as Avery’s pet Hui, like she heard people calling him. She didn’t like that nickname.

“I’m a bit worried Yuqi might be overdoing stuff too much. What if she gets too tired before Sunday?”  
She felt Hui’s hand on hers, it was bigger and warmer and it somehow made her feel a little bit better.  
“I’m sure Yuqi will do great, Shuhua always praises her as the best seeker ever. Just – don’t tell her I told you that, I can’t be the one that ruined her tough façade or whatever.” The boy smiled, before resuming his Charms essay.  
He was right, she thought, Yuqi was going to win Gryffindor their first match, they didn’t actually need to worry about it.

Speaking of Shuhua, she went past them half an hour later. She waved at them, but that was about it.  
She and the Hufflepuff Soojin recognized as Penelope _something_ took the table under the window, a few meters away from them. 

It was pretty obvious the other girl was not in the Library to focus on her studies. She tied her blonde hair in a high ponytail, but she didn’t stop looking at Shuhua for a second, while the Slytherin took a book from her bag, along with some papers and her quill.  
It was a beautiful quill, as black as the girl’s hair with golden details all over it, it sat perfectly in Shuhua’s right hand.

“You still haven’t talked to her?”

She told Hui a week before, when they were enjoying the cold breeze next to the lake. He didn’t judge her, but he didn’t come up with a good solution either. She knew she should’ve talked to the girl, but the problem was she didn’t know how.

“What am I supposed to say? _Sorry I was an asshole?_  
The boy smile was sweet, almost like he was having trouble not to laugh at her struggle. Which was a lot likely to be true.  
“That’s a start, yes.” 

She appreciated his honesty, she really did, but the thought of having to apologize made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She never liked it, even as a kid – she rarely got in trouble, but when she did, her punishment was always extended because she refused to say she was sorry. 

She was lucky enough her parents weren’t as strict as they could be. Her mother would take her favorite toy away from her for a week, but that was perhaps the worst thing she went through in her childhood. Clearly, she still chose to ignore what the boggart had reminded her.

She couldn’t focus anymore. She kept looking at Shuhua and her new friend, thinking about how easy was for everyone to like her. It was sort of annoying that the reason behind it was a stupid Quidditch match, because Soojin was certain they all wanted to hang out with the Slytherin seeker, not with Yeh Shuhua.  
Either way, the younger didn’t seem to care. She was currently suppressing a laugh for whatever Penelope _something_ just said, looking down just so the eye contact wouldn’t break her. 

Soojin, on the other hand, pressed her quill against the paper at the point a big hole was formed in a couple of seconds. She wouldn’t have noticed, if it wasn’t for Hui’s cough.  
“Shit.” She mumbled, grabbing her wand to fix the mess she just created.  
“Talk to her, I’m sure you can still be friends.”  
“I will.” She cut him off, and it was clear she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. 

Once the paper was clean and intact again, she dared to look up.  
Her eyes met a pair of darker ones, but unlike every other time, Shuhua didn’t look away. They stared at each other for what it felt like an hour, before the heat on Soojin’s cheek forced her to give up first. 

She did need to talk to her and she knew just the perfect time to do it.  
Little did she know Shuhua wouldn’t show herself next Saturday.

___________________________________

The least thing she expected from that week was to be called in the principal’s office at ten in the morning. She couldn’t think of anything wrong she did lately, but she still felt anxious going up the hidden stairs.  
She had put on her clean uniform, but once she got in front of the wooden door, she still checked everything was in the right place. She pressed her hands against her shirt’s sleeves, then she did the same with the skirt. After adjusting the green and silver tie, she finally knocked.

The door opened immediately, but it didn’t surprise her; it did the same the day after Halloween. She hadn’t been in McGonagall’s office since and she wished that was the last time she had to enter the big room.  
“Miss Yeh.” She heard the principal say, but her attention was drawn to the two men standing on the side of her desk.

One of them had a small face, his nose was pointy and his chin was visibly thinner than the rest of his face. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t figure out who that was.

On his side stood her father dressed in his Auror uniform. To everyone else he might’ve looked just as stoic as usual, but Shuhua knew his facial expressions better than she knew herself and it didn’t take long for her to acknowledge he was worried sick.

He was paler than he normally was and the skin on his forehead was slightly wrinkled. She was reminded of the times he was struggling to keep everything together after his wife’s departure.

“I assume you’ve already heard of our Minister Jeon.”  
Of course, she should’ve picked it up instantly. The British Minister of Magic looked almost exactly like his daughter, Jeon Soyeon.  
Shuhua shook her head, bowing to the man in a silent apology.

“Why am I here?”  
Even though the question was for the principal, Shuhua couldn’t keep her eyes off her father’s face.  
“It’s best if you take a seat, miss Yeh.”

She did take a seat in the end, but only after staring at the man for a few more seconds. She couldn’t understand what could’ve brought him there, what was so urgent that it couldn’t wait until the Christmas break, that was just two weeks away.

“As you already know, the incident that involved you and other five students on Halloween was, as the matter of facts, very well planned.”  
She wanted to say that _yes_ , she knew, but she also didn’t, because they wouldn’t tell her much more. She still nodded, patiently waiting for what was to come.

“I was personally convinced ignorance would keep you and your friends safe.” She didn’t ask how she knew they were friends, but she still questioned it. Were they observed? Or perhaps professor McGonagall was aware of everything that happened in her school. “But recent developments force us to give you burdensome news.”

Even without looking at him, she could feel her father moving slightly in his place. He was uncomfortable. The other man, Soyeon’s father, didn’t make a single noise since she got there.  
“Am I in trouble?”

That was the only thing she actually cared about. She didn’t want to let her father down, not after she promised him she would’ve stayed out of trouble.  
McGonagall sighed, removing her specs to look at her deeply in the eyes.

“I am afraid so, miss Yeh. Not because of anything you did, but because the situation you were born in –”  
Her father coughed. Despite still not knowing what the principal’s words meant, she started to feel the burden she mentioned just before. Her heart felt heavy and Shuhua had to gulp, before looking at the man on her right.

“There are many things I’ve kept from you, Shuhua, but you have to believe me when I say I did it for your own good.”  
His voice didn’t crack, but the girl could see in his eyes that he was suffering from all those said secret he had kept from her. She still had no idea what they could be. Perhaps she was adopted, or her mother wasn’t actually her mother. Actually, she looked too much like her. It could be _he_ wasn’t actually his father. Or was it possible… could her mother be still alive, by any chance?  
She felt a sudden burst of anger at the thought of crying for years a woman that wasn’t even dead.

“Tell me now, then. What? What is it?”

McGonagall sighed, as if she was about to speak again. She didn’t want to hear it from a woman she started considering her principal about a two months earlier. She wanted him to tell her what was going on.  
“We have reasons to believe you’re soon going to be involved in international politics.”

Neither of them spoke, because the Minister did for the first time. His voice was raspy and deep, the total opposite from what Soyeon’s sounded like.  
“Me? Is this a joke?”  
“Shuhua.” She frowned. As if the way she talked to the Minister was that important in that moment.

“The robbery happened in a private house.” McGonagall spoke again, her soft and caring voice just made Shuhua’s anger grow. She felt like a three years old child being lecture by her parents for something she didn’t even do.  
“It was our house.”  
The scene just seemed more and more ridiculous every time one of them gave her a new information. 

“What? We don’t have a house in Hogsmeade.”  
“We do.” Her father sounded tired. “Me, your mother and you hid there for a year, just as you were born.”  
“ _Hid? Dad, what are you talking about? I never left China until three months ago._ ” Since the first time since she stood on Hogwarts’ ground, Shuhua let her mother tongue slip. 

“English, please.” He didn’t let it go, because other people were present and they most likely did not understand a word of Chinese. 

“There is one thing you need to know about your mother, Shuhua. I am sorry I kept this from you, but –”  
“It was for my own good, yes, I got it. Just tell me.”  
“You mother – she was not like everybody else. She had a gift.” He smiled, but there was no happiness in his face. “So they call it. To her it was a curse.”

They fell silent, as the man collected the courage to speak the words she hadn’t said out loud for many years. “She was a Seer. Seers are witches, or wizards, with a special ability no one else has, known as Inner Eye.”

Shuhua knew what Seers were, she studied the subject back in China, but she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt him.  
“This _gift_ your mother had was considered to be dangerous. The year she got pregnant, she couldn’t control it anymore. I’ve heard her pronounce more than ten prophecies in very, very few months.”

His eyes closed, Shuhua could read the pain he was feeling in recalling the memories and she felt it like it was her own. 

She rarely cried, not since she returned to school after her mother’s death. The day she found out Soojin got together with Hui, she _wanted_ to cry, but in the end she didn’t. Crying was pointless anyway, all it did was giving her an headache, making her feel weak, adding more stress on her shoulders.  
She didn’t cry in the principal’s office either, even though seeing her father’s pain brought tears in her eyes.

“We came here because we knew the Chinese Ministry would have chased her down, if they found out. In Britain, Seers are not considered a danger to public order like they are in our mother land. After you were born, we waited months, but her situation became more stable, so we went back to China. We were happy, we felt safe, but four years ago she had another vision and–”  
She felt like she knew the end of this story.  
“They got to her.”

It took her almost a minute of silence, the only noise was the crackling fire in the chimney, before she could register the story she just heard.  
“You said a Charm went wrong.” She whispered, her voice was so low she was surprised he heard it.  
“I had to protect you from the truth.”  
“Why?” That was not the question she wanted to ask, but her eyes burned too much to let her continue. She rubber her sleeves over them, keeping back all the tears she didn’t want to cry in front of two strangers. “Why are you telling me this now? How does this concern me in any way?”

“Your mother –” McGonagall took the word for the first time in awhile, and her voice was still soft, like she was pondering the words she was about to say. “She did tell a prophecy before you left Britain. That is what was stolen one month ago.” She looked directly at the girl’s confused expression, understanding it was all too much to take in. However, she couldn’t stop there, not when the truth was almost entirely out. “A memory.”  
“A memory.” Shuhua repeated, in disbelief.  
“My memory.” Her father explained right after. “Of when I listened to that prophecy. I think it’s better if I show you.”

She had never seen a Pensieve up until the moment a little cabin opened behind her back. Professor McGonagall made a gesture with her arm, inviting her to get close to it, so that was what she did.  
She got up and walked to the closed that was stuck on the wall. Inside there was a stone bowl filled with what it seemed to be the clearest water.  
She felt her legs shaking and, as if he noticed, her father put a hand on her shoulder. It was warm as ever, reassuring in a way, but that time it did not help her to feel better.  
“Whenever you are ready.”

She wasn’t ready. She just wanted to turn around and leave the office for good. Actually, she wanted to be Obliviated and forget that conversation ever happened.  
The Auror still pointed his wand to his forehead, just to extract something out of it. It was some sort of silvery smoke, but it looked dense and it merged perfectly to the water in the Pensieve.  
Watching inside of it, she couldn’t focus on anything. The scene was blurry, the images too fast, there was no sound.  
The least thing she expected was her father’s grip to tighten up, so that he could drag her inside the bowl.

They landed inside a room Shuhua didn’t recognize. A way younger Yeh Feng was sitting on a couch in front of the fire with some papers in his hands, while the same man – but older and visibly suffering – was also standing next to her.  
Next to a window, a woman was humming a lullaby, trying to put the baby in her arms to sleep.  
Shuhua’s heart sunk even deeper than it did back in the office.  
“Mom.” She whispered, taking a few steps ahead. They woman showed no signs of having noticed her, so she tried again. “Mom?”  
“It’s a memory, Shu.” The man got up to where she was. “She can’t hear you.”  
She felt the need to close her eyes, while she tried to grab her mother’s shoulder. Her hand went right through it.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she noticed that outside the window Hogsmeade village was covered in snow. Judging by the size, that little Shuhua wasn’t more than two months old.  
Her parents did not speak to each other, but she could feel the silence was comfortable, like this was how they spent the evenings. They smiled at each other from time to time, before he returned to his work and she kept humming.  
Until, of course, the situation drastically changed. 

“ _Honey?_ ” He was in Chinese, getting up from the couch. He looked and sounded alarmed, and Shuhua could see why.  
The baby started crying, while her mother grabbed her little arm with too much strength. Her eyes were the same color as before, but they seemed distant, like she wasn’t actually there and she was watching something far, far away.  
“Hey.” The young man knew he couldn’t do anything but wait for it to pass, but he quickly got close to grab the little Shuhua in his arms before she could get more injured. Her arm was bleeding from where her mother’s nail had sunken.  
The sixteen years old Shuhua touched the same arm without even thinking about it, where she had that scar she couldn’t remember getting.

“ _Once what is false seems real,  
the third eyed daughter shall cause  
a change of leadership  
at the cost of a painful loss._”

Trying to focus on the office details once again turned out to be harder than expected. Shuhua’s vision was blurry, but she didn’t understand why. Her heart was racing inside her chest and her mind just kept replaying her mother’s words without giving her a break.  
All those times she thought she would’ve given anything to see her again, that wasn’t what she meant. Now, she would’ve given anything just to erase the last twenty minutes from her memory for good.

“Shu.” Her father’s voice sounded distant, but when he tried to touch her shoulder, she jumped away as if his hand could burn her skin.  
“Don’t touch me!” She found out she was crying just then. “Why did you show it to me? I don’t get it. I don’t _want_ it.”

He didn’t give her an answer, so professor McGonagall had to took a step forward.  
“I feel extremely sorry asking you to carry yet another burden, but –”  
“Can’t we wait?” Feng never interrupted when someone else was talking, yet alone a figure as high as Minerva McGonagall, but seeing her daughter like he had only seen her when his wife died was too painful for him to handle.  
“And let all this suffering be vain? She needs to know everything now.”

Shuhua was nothing more than a passive spectator, still too disturbed to fully comprehend what was going on around her.  
She didn’t notice how the principal had led her back to her seat, nor when she poured a cup of tea that she then put in her shaky hands. She tried to take a sip, but the tea mixed with her tears and the taste ended up being too odd. 

“The prophecy, did you understand it?”  
“I don’t know.” She forced herself to say, because she knew they had to go through it if she wanted to get out of that office. “Something about a daughter and a leader and death.”  
“Loss.” McGonagall made the correction, but it didn’t feel any different. 

“You see…” Her father put a hand on her head, but this time she didn’t push it away. “That prophecy is currently in a department of our Ministry of Magic, and –” She paused, which gave Shuhua the impression of two more hours being added to the torture. “It has your name on it.”

The Slytherin was certain that her head was going to explode soon. It was impossible to fit that amount of new information in such a short amount of time. Perhaps she didn’t even process everything that was said to her that morning.  
“What?”  
“This prophecy is –”  
“Yes, I understand, it’s about me, but how is this possible?”  
“As soon as the Chinese Ministry put their hands on Mr. Yeh’s memory, they made the assumption you were the daughter in question. Their assumption caused it to become the truth. Your name appeared on the tag yesterday.”  
“Why me? I don’t have the Third Eye, or Inner Eye, or whatever you want to call it.”  
“That you can’t know for sure. However, Seers are extremely rare in each country, but in where you are from, they hide themselves out of fear. Your mother was the only Seer the Ministry is aware of in the last fifty years.  
“The Minister doesn’t want to risk losing his position” She convened, and McGonagall nodded.  
“They asked for you to be returned in China. Of course, that is not on our intentions. We will protect you.” The principal’s hand was put on hers. It was cold, even more bony than it looked like, but it didn’t bother her.  
“They cannot cross Hogwarts’ limits without permission. Even outside the school, if anything happened, we would be able to locate you until you have the Trace on you. However, once you will turn seventeen next January –”  
She was screwed.  
“We will need you to cooperate.”

“Perhaps you should stay in school, this Christmas break.” Her father suggested.  
“No. I want to go home.”  
Home. She didn’t even know where _home_ was anymore.

“I think this is enough, for today. You may go, if you want to.”

She did want to, but she stayed on her chair for another long minute. She looked at Soyeon’s father, who watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes without saying a word. She wondered what was the reason that pushed him there. International politics, maybe, or maybe something different.

“I have an assignment to do.” She then said with a plain tone. She bowed twice, before the Minister and the Principal.  
She briefly looked at her father, she couldn’t bring herself to do it without feeling the acid go up her throat once again.

When she left the office, he didn’t follow her. He knew she wanted to be left alone.

She didn’t cry again, because her logical side took control, and she was fine with it.  
She just wanted to forget that all happened, only for a day, watch the Quidditch match with her friends and celebrate Yuqi’s first win of the season.

__________________________________

They did not celebrate at all in the end.  
The game ended in less than an hour and a half, because Ravenclaw’s seeker caught the Golden Snitch. While the entire blue and bronze crowd started screaming and singing and dancing, the five girls fell silent.  
They watched Yuqi fly down to the ground and disappear in the changing room faster than anyone else in Gryffindor’s team. 

They then waited for the longest time outside, but there were no signs of the younger girl, even though her teammates all went past them. 

They agreed to let Soyeon go in to look for her, so she did.  
_Look for_ was not the right term, because Yuqi wasn’t hiding at all. 

She was sitting on the wooden bench in the middle of the room, with her face hidden against her hands. It was all extremely quiet, so it wasn’t hard for Soyeon to hear the sobs the Gryffindor let out every few seconds. 

Despite not being the first time she saw Yuqi cry, because the girl was never afraid of showing what she felt, the Ravenclaw still didn’t know what to do. She felt an ache in the middle of her chest, just like she could feel the other one’s pain as her own.  
Perhaps she did feel it. They were close, Yuqi and her, and they clicked together so well, in a way that happened with just one person before. The only difference was she didn’t feel for the other person – Soojin – what she felt for the girl that was crying in front of her.

Most of all, she did not experience with Soojin what she experienced with Yuqi. She didn’t hear Soojin’s terrified scream, nor she stood behind Soojin while the girl bravely collected herself to cast a spell on her own boggart.  
The image still haunted her to that day. Yuqi had to watch a faceless version of herself before Soyeon could even intervene, and if she had to be honest, she wasn’t sure she could’ve intervened. She did not have the courage Yuqi showed in that occasion. 

The thing that hurt the most was that Soyeon understood exactly what the girl was feeling, because she had told her. The day after Halloween, while they were waiting for their friends to finish the meeting with the principal, she looked her right in the eyes and she explained what the boggart meant.

Yuqi was a witch in a family of muggles. Her parents, her brother, her sister – they didn’t know what it meant. They were confused at first, but once they got used to it, their expectations grew higher each year. Yuqi was that different child, the one that was supposed to bring honor to the family.  
They didn’t put the weight on her shoulder on purpose, but they still put it there.  
Yuqi was afraid. She turned seventeen just two months earlier, but she thought she was already supposed to have it all figured out yet and it didn’t matter how many times Soyeon tried to explain that was not how life worked, she still expected nothing but the maximum from herself.  
She was scared of being a nobody. She was scared of failing, not only people around her, but mostly herself. 

Soyeon knew she failed herself that day.

She quietly sat next to her and with a grace that didn’t belong to her most of the times, she put an arm around Yuqi’s shoulder. At first the girl tensed up, but as soon she recognized Soyeon’s touch, she let herself go. She was shaking.  
In no time, she lowered her arms just to hide her face against the Ravenclaw’s neck. 

“Yuqi.” She whispered, placing a soft kiss in her brown hair. “It’s okay.”  
She repeated those words three times. She didn’t need Yuqi to tell her they were sinking in, because the girl slowly calmed down, releasing the grip she held onto Soyeon’s sweater without even realizing. 

The older girl brought a hand to cup her cheek, gently inviting her to lift her head up. When she met her eyes, they were still wet and red and they looked even bigger than usual. She felt her heart shrinking. 

“You’re not a failure.” Yuqi’s lips parted, but before she could say anything, Soyeon shook her head. “You’re not.”  
She kissed her on her forehead.  
“You did great. I’ve seen the effort you put, we all saw it.”  
This time, she kissed her cheek.

“But it wasn’t enough.” Her voice was raspy and broken, even deeper than it usually was. Her eyes were still filled with sadness and Soyeon wished she could just wash it all away.  
“You can’t always be perfect.” Coming from a perfectionist like her, it was kind of ironic, but it seemed to be what Yuqi needed to hear. “You’ll practice more, you’ll do better next time.” 

The last kiss she placed was on Yuqi’s nose, right before she put their foreheads against each other. She waited, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her thumbs, while the Gryffindor’s breath gradually slowed down.  
She wasn’t sure Yuqi completely believed her, but there was nothing more she could do for now. The fact that the girl didn’t look as sad as few minutes earlier could be still counted as a win. Soyeon promised herself she would help Yuqi in carrying that weight everyday, if it meant seeing her expression change like it just did. 

The air got suddenly tense, as Yuqi rubbed her nose against Soyeon’s. She didn’t say anything before pressing their lips together, although _press_ was not the way to describe it.

The touch was extremely soft at first, as if the girl feared being rejected. Soyeon took the next step forward, grabbing her lower upper with hers. It was salty and wet, but she didn’t mind. She just knew, now that they overcame their fear of going forward, they would be kissing more in the future and Yuqi wouldn’t be crying. 

She kept her hand on the younger’s cheek, bringing her thumb on her chin, where she pressed for a moment. Yuqi seemed to understand, because her lips parted right after, allowing Soyeon to slip her tongue inside the other’s mouth.  
They kissed until the need for air became unbearable and they had to part. Yuqi was smiling, her expressive eyes sparkled again.

“So all it took was losing my first game? You could’ve said something earlier.”  
“Shut up, you were flirting with guys all this time.”  
“It was _one_ guy, and he was flirting with me, not the other way around. What can I do if I’m so attractive?” That was definitely the Song Yuqi she had fallen for. “Besides, you’re cute when you’re jealous.”  
“I wasn’t jealous.”

They both knew it was a lie, because as soon as she said it, they were already smiling. She would’ve put up a grunge, but the thrilling feeling of having tasted Yuqi’s lips for the first time kept her from doing anything other than showing how happy she was. 

“The girls are waiting for us.”  
“Let them wait some more.”  
The initial embarrassment from before had gone away, because this time the kissed heated up right away.  
The girls would’ve been waiting for a lot more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there you go, a big piece of the puzzle is on the tables! let me know what you think about it hehe  
> i hated having to put shuhua thru it but at the same time i loved it oops


	9. of peaches and mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello :)  
> this chapter is shorter than usual, but it's everything i needed to set things for the christmas break hehe  
> thank you as usual for the nice comments under the last chapter, hope you enjoy this one, i liked the first scene a lot

The first snow of the winter season fell the day before the Christmas break, while Soojin and Shuhua were in the middle of Hagrid’s pumpkin patch.  
It was their last day of detention, right in time for the holidays, but they had to face their hardest task yet. The gamekeeper had warned them, giving them precise instructions on how to take care of the annoying problem that was bothering him and his pumpkin the whole week.   
Doxies, that is. He found some of them flying around his hut and, with insanely good luck, he was able to track them down to the field. Since the nest as bigger than expected and the females had already buried their eggs under the dirt, the use of magic was required to get rid of them.

That was were the two Slytherins became useful; apparently Shuhua had really good grades in Care of Magical Creatures, while Soojin had a natural talent for Charms. They were the perfect fit for the job.  
Or so the teachers thought.   
In reality, they had been struggling all morning. They managed to collect all the eggs scattered around the patch, but the adult Doxies were to quick and too smart to get hit by the girls.

Just as one of the fairy-like creatures grabbed Shuhua’s hair and pulled it as violently as it could, the younger girl tried to smack it, driving it away.  
Soojin couldn’t hold back the smile that formed on her lips, but she let it die right after. Just like each day of the past week, the Chinese girl did not look like she was in the mood to joke around. She avoided them since Sunday’s match and, when she got there that morning, she barely said hi.

Soojin wanted to ask if something as wrong, but she had a feeling the other girl would not have liked her nosing around, not after how she treated her for weeks. 

“I think it likes you.”  
She still tried to lift her mood, but the attempt was too weak to be successful.   
“Everyone likes me.” Shuhua mumbled with a serious look on her face, but it made Soojin smile again.  
It was impressive how her and Yuqi acted almost the same from time to time.  
“Oh, I can see. I think you have more admirers than Minnie, at this point.”  
She still didn’t smile.  
“Did she talk with Miyeon, by the way?”  
“I guess. They’re back to normal, from what I can see.”  
“What normal?”

Soojin shrugged, putting up a shy smile. She didn’t ask her best friends to tell her if they were still having sex or if they were back at being just friends. _Actually_ just friends. Maybe she should’ve, but having them talk about their sex life was still too odd for the Slytherin, who needed some more time to adjust with the whole new situation.   
Shuhua stopped asking questions. She was more serious than ever, her eyes darker, sadder.   
Soojin felt her hands tickle, while the need to hug the girl made its way inside her mind. She put it aside, because it wasn’t her place to do so.

It was almost lunch time when Soojin closed the cage, filled with Doxies that hit the metal bars left and right trying to escape.   
From what they could see, they took care of every single one of them, so she felt safe putting her wand back under her cape, while Shuhua did the same.  
Suddenly the thought of having to return to the castle soon hit the older, alongside an unknown feeling that grew inside her stomach. She considered letting the fairies loose for one moment, but to think about the amount of time it took them to collect the creatures, she didn’t do it.

Instead, she did something that took her a courage she rarely showed during her life.  
“It was me.” She said, keeping her gaze locked on Shuhua’s face. “In the Shack, that little girl – it was me.”  
The younger seemed to be thinking about her words for a moment, meeting her eyes for the first time in days. “I know.” She then said.  
“And that scene – it actually happened. When I was just a kid, I got lost in a store in – Knockturn Alley, I think.” It was the first time she said it out loud. Actually, it was the first time she even admitted that to herself. What was her father doing there, which was so important he couldn’t wait for her daughter not to be with him – that remained a mystery.   
“It’s a street next to Diagon Alley.” She added, seeing Shuhua’s confused expression. “A bad place. A lot of illegal traffics happen and the shops sell all sorts of artifacts. Long story short, I thought my dad left me there.”  
Shuhua looked at her with a plain look on her face, to Soojin it was impossible to understand her thoughts. Then, the girl sighed and her face looked like it aged of ten years in one single second.  
“Why are you telling me this?” She even sounded tired, like she was carrying a weight that was slowly crashing her to the ground. 

“Because –” She wasn’t good with words, her strong suite was being a good listener, not giving speeches. She still wanted to try. “What I’m trying to say is I’ve always been scared of being left alone. That’s why I don’t let people close. They can’t hurt me, if I keep them away.”  
As the silence filled the air, looking at Shuhua became too painful. Soojin’s eyes fell to the ground, thinking she might have shared too much and that maybe the other girl didn’t care about what she had to say. 

She dared to look up only when she realized Shuhua was just staring at her and she probably had no intention on saying anything.

Once their eyes made contact again, Soojin could see something had switched. Shuhua’s facial expression was still extremely serious, but somehow it wasn’t emotionless anymore. It was the total opposite, and Soojin watched the walls she had put around her crumble down.   
“My father lied to me my whole life.”   
She did not understand yet, but she found herself taking a few steps forward so that she could stand in front of the younger girl.   
“It didn’t make sense, right? Me being afraid of my mom. I loved her, I miss her everyday. It didn’t make sense what we saw in the Shack.”  
Neither did Shuhua’s words in that moment, but she figured the girl needed to let a lot of things out, so she didn’t stop her to ask for clarification. 

Eventually, she started to pick up the important bits and put them together in a story that Shuhua, after calming down, confirmed. She told her about her parents’ past, about the Chinese Ministry, about the prophecy, about Soyeon’s father.   
She was shaking, but Soojin wasn’t sure the snow had anything to do with it. It was still falling and, after all those hours, the ground was covered in it, yet the cold was not as stinging as it could’ve been, reason why Soojin didn’t mind take her scarf off to cover Shuhua’s shoulder with it.

Instead of letting go, she then pulled her in for a hug. Shuhua didn’t react at first, she just let her chin rest on Soojin’s shoulder, but after the initial confusion, she put her arms around the other’s waist, turning to hide her face against her neck.  
It sent a chill down Soojin’s spine.   
As soon as she inhaled the cold air, she felt her heart drop. She was met with a soft scent that her mind soon registered as a peachy one. She liked it, it was perfectly balanced to be pleasant, but not strong at a point it would cover every other smell.  
She closed her eyes, forcing herself on the spot, because Shuhua needed it. She trusted her enough to tell her everything, so she couldn’t let her down one more time.  
Even though all she wanted to do was run as far as possible.  
Because she knew she had smelled that perfume before. It was one of the scents she felt in the Amortentia months earlier.

Shuhua sniffed before pulling back, but she didn’t cry like Soojin thought. Her eyes were still more expressive than she could’ve ever imagined, but they weren’t red, nor filled with tears. They looked deeper, like Shuhua was not putting an effort in shutting down her emotions.   
They were very much alike, Soojin had to admit to herself, at least in that.  
“Thank you.”  
Soojin lifted a hand to clear some snow from her dark hair.  
“About that truce…” Shuhua looked confused, curious even, so Soojin found the courage to ask. “Do you think we could make it a friendship?”  
They fell silent for a moment, just looking at each other. Even though she felt she could understand the younger girl more now, she still had no idea of what was going on inside her mind right now.   
“Are you done being a bitch?”  
She deserved that, of course she did, but it still made her stomach clench. She simply nodded.  
“Then I think we can work on it.”

The instant Soojin smiled at her, she was hit by something cold in her right cheek.   
She looked around in complete disbelief, touching her own skin at the same time only to find out it was wet due to a snowball that had now started going down her cape.  
Not far away from them, something that looked a lot like a fairy was laughing at her, ready to throw another snowball in their direction.  
“Son of a –”   
“ _Language._ ” Shuhua said, between her laugh.   
Seeing her that cheerful after more than a week put a thought inside Soojin’s brain, and she didn’t know it yet, but that thought would’ve never left. She wanted to take care of Shuhua from now on.  
“That’s not funny.”  
“It is.”  
She was still smiling, so the older scuffed, but didn’t reply.  
“Then you catch it this time.”

__________________________________

It was, to put it into words, _disgusting_.  
Of course she was happy Yuqi and Soyeon finally stopped playing around, and it wasn’t that bad most of the times, because they just kept teasing each other like they did before, but Hogwarts really wanted Soojin to roll her eyes harder than she ever did.

She kept her eyes on the mistletoe that was growing and blossoming above their heads, all just not to look at the two of them, who completely forgot about their four friends being a few inches away.  
Even Minnie complained about the sudden kissing, that showed no sign of stopping anytime soon, and she shaped her mouth into a duck’s beak in an impression of Yuqi’s mouth, causing Miyeon and Shuhua to laugh. Soojin smiled as well.

“Hey!” Yuqi complained, after pulling back, and that was the call for Minnie to go back to her normal, human self. “Get a girlfriend and you’ll understand.”  
No one made the point that Minnie could’ve also gotten a boyfriend, Soojin knew why. They were all absolutely convinced, at this point, that she and Miyeon would’ve ended up together. As for Soojin, she wasn’t sure that was the case.

“ _Anyway._ ” The Hufflepuff awkwardly adjusted herself on the stone bench. “Are we going to see each other during the break?”  
“Actually, my parents are going back to Thailand for New Year’s, so we could do something at my place?”  
Yuqi seemed the most excited about the news. Growing up in a family of muggles, she was always fascinated to discover new habits that wizards had. Minnie’s house was like a playground for her, because the Yontararaks were two bizarre individuals, even for wizards.  
They always brought home new objects and artifacts, such as jewels, said magical stones, parts of animals Soojin didn’t want to know about. You could always find one or two copies of The Quibbler on their coffee table. She remembered of that time she tried to read an article, but it had so many absurd theories she couldn’t bring herself to finish it.   
If to Soojin the whole situation was weird, to Yuqi was an absolute delight. 

“Mac will for sure invite some of his friends, but we can chill in my room or – I don’t know, we could even go see the fireworks at the Eye?”  
“We can make a decision later. Oh, Shuhua –” Soyeon looked at the younger girl. “You need to give us your phone number, I’ll add you to the group chat as soon as I get home.”  
Shuhua nodded, but Soojin could see her shoulder were tense. She wasn’t sure Shuhua was going to spend New Year’s Eve with them, not after what she confessed that same morning. She put a hand on hers and, once the Chinese met her eyes, she smiled at her.   
The scene did ot went by unnoticed, but the others were far too surprised to say anything at all.  
“I mean, if you want.” Soyeon quickly added, perhaps thinking that was the problem. “You don’t actually have to.”

Miyeon chuckled, grabbing everyone’s attention. “It’s not that you don’t have a phone, right? Because we can’t handle another Soojin. It’s bad enough using letters to communicate with one person, but two –”  
Shuhua frowned, confused, and when she realized what the Hufflepuff was saying, she turned to look at Soojin in disbelief.  
“You don’t have a phone?”  
She rolled her eyes for the second time, ignoring the fact that they were all trying their best not to laugh at her.   
“What? Like it’s weird?” It was, she knew it was. “We’re witches, we don’t need phones.”  
“But it’s also 2020.” Shuhua quickly replied, the frown still visible on her face. “You can’t live in the Middle Age forever.”  
Soojin snorted, while the other four girls couldn’t keep the laugh in anymore. She lost count of how many times they had made fun of her for refusing to buy a phone, but she couldn’t really do anything about it. She tried using their friend’s once or twice, but she couldn’t even figure out the basics.

“Whatever. You know where I live, right? Once you decide what to do, just come tell me, I’m fine with anything.”  
She got up, fixing her uniform in the process.   
“Where are you going?” Soyeon asked, while her hand distractedly played with Yuqi’s.  
“To meet Hui. He’s going to Spain with his family for Christmas, so…”  
Of course, she missed the way Shuhua’s face dropped, too focused on giving her best friend an annoyed look. Even without hearing a single word coming out of her mouth, she knew precisely what she wanted to say to her.  
“See you tomorrow.”

______________________________

She found the boy on one of the stone bridges that linked a part of the castle to another. From the windows there you could see the lake that was starting to be frozen. The Hogwarts park was almost completely white after a whole day of snow and the sun was setting.  
The view made Soojin feel warmer and right after the feeling was amplified by Hui’s smile.  
“Hey.” She said, with a tone so low he could barely hear it.

He looked nicer than usual, with his messy hair and his loosened up tie, almost like he planned those details in advance, which Soojin thought he probably did.  
“How was your day? Was your last detention bad?”  
He always cared to ask her about her day and he did it not just to small talk, but because he actually cared enough.   
“Oh, well –” She wouldn’t say it was bad, since she and Shuhua actually connected for the first time, but just the thought of what she felt in hugging her made her flustered, so she decided not to talk about it for the moment. “Hagrid put us to take down a Doxie nest. They’re really annoying, one of them challenged me to a snowball fight.”

Hui’s laugh seemed to brighten up the place immediately. It was one of the things she liked the most about him; he had the perfect laugh, warm enough to make you smile in return.  
“Who won?”  
“Me, of course.” She did not take the challenge, but she gladly watched Shuhua struggle to catch the last Doxie.   
“Ah, of course.” 

He kept smiling for a bit, but he couldn’t hide how nervous he was and the girl suddenly felt anxiety growing inside her chest, even though she didn’t know why.  
“Have you talked to Shuhua?”  
He did not found the courage to say what he actually wanted to say and the next best thing was not something Soojin wanted to talk about, but she still played along.  
“Yes, I think we’re friends now.” She didn’t need to tell him the details, after all. That was enough.  
“Good, good.”  
“Hui –”  
He didn’t let her continue, instead he lift a hand to ask her to wait, while with the other one he pulled a little box from his trousers’ pocket.  
“I bought you a present, but you have to promise you won’t open it until Christmas.”  
Which was sort of the worst case scenario, because she did _not_ buy anything for him. She gave her friends, except for Shuhua – who also didn’t get her anything –, their presents a couple hours earlier, but she didn’t think she already was at that point with Hui as well.  
“You shouldn’t have, I didn’t get you anything.”  
He smiled. He didn’t look bothered at all.  
“It’s fine. Let’s say you buy me dinner when I get back to London.”

Soojin could be defined as a lot of things, but stupid was definitely not in the list. She knew that was a set up for an official date, but looking at Hui’s face she thought that perhaps it wouldn’t have been such a terrible idea.  
She took the boy’s present in her hands, it was light, it made her wonder what could’ve been in it.  
“It’s going to be the first one I open, I promise.”  
That was enough to brighten up his face and the smile he gave her was one of the most heartwarming sights she had ever laid her eyes on.   
They looked at each other for some time, before Hui, the tallest out of the two, got distracted by a tickling feeling on his head. 

“Hogwarts makes me feel spied all the time.”  
It took her a few seconds to understand, but once she looked up everything became clear. The mistletoe, almost identical to the one she complained about not so long before, was growing at an incredible fast pace.   
Her heart stopped. Even though she deep down knew whose desire cause the little bush to appear, it didn’t take her long to convince herself that it was growing so much just because they both wanted it. Which wasn’t that far from the truth.   
She wanted to. She liked Hui, he was good looking and nice. He was also athletic, even if he didn’t enjoy Quidditch that much. He had a great sense of responsibility and he probably was the most trustworthy person she ever met.  
She liked him, he made her feel warm and safe and seen.   
Soojin liked Hui.  
That is why she took a step forward and she got on her toes to bring their lips together.


	10. of christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got stuck on this chapter for days TT i also had to cut out a scene that wasn't coming like i wanted it to, so maybe i'll write it from scratch and post it as a one shot maybe  
> anyways this christmas chapter took all my energies, just don't hate me when you finish reading  
> oh and i finally remembered to say: if you wanna reach out, you can find me on twitter at @maunobanx
> 
> ( tw: alcohol, smut )

The Yontararaks and the Chos cherished traditions more than anyone could ever imagine. It didn’t matter how their respective relatives insisted for them to have lunch with their families, they always turned them down. Christmas was for gathering in Cho two stories house and set the table, a meal that would last them for days, Mac always giving little Chaeyoung – Miyeon’s sister who turned ten that year – the best present.

For Miyeon and Minnie, Christmas was for wearing the ugliest sweater possible – but in the end they always found them cute, helping out the adults in the kitchen, only for them to then sneak a bottle of Firewhisky out of there and get tipsy in the bathroom since they were fifteen.  
Traditions were important for the two of them as well and, even though they didn’t need to hide the bottle anymore, being past seventeen years old and all, Minnie still put it behind her back while Miyeon was talking to their parents about something that happened in school just last week, the Ravenclaw wasn’t sure what. 

That was the problem, right? Minnie lost herself so many times when Miyeon was talking, and not because she was not interested or anything. Actually, it was the complete opposite. She always found herself thinking about how much she loved when her best friend got passionate about any subject and how she became physical, telling her stories with gestures and all. And the way she then realized she was overdoing it and she got flustered and she panicked, that was also adorable. 

That’s why Minnie sort of forgot she was supposed to sneak out the kitchen, and she came back to reality just once she felt her sweater being pulled down by a really small hand, that belonged to a ten years old. She immediately smiled, trying to hide the bottle behind her back, while she escorted the kid in the hallway.   
“Why are you hiding that?”  
She was not that smooth with it as she thought, but she still smiled at Miyeon’s little sister and she went on her knees just to match her height.   
“I need it for an experiment, but it’s a secret.”  
The girl was way too smart to buy it, she just looked at her for a good ten seconds, swinging on her toes.  
“Can I have a box of Every Flavour Beans if I keep the secret?”  
“You know what? You can have two.”  
They weren’t that expensive anyway and the news seemed to have made the girl happier than expected, so much that she put her tiny arms around Minnie’s neck, surprising the older one. She still smiled after awhile, patting the kid’s head a couple times.   
“You’re the best.” Chaeyoung said, before she enter the kitchen jumping around.

It took Miyeon another ten o fifteen minutes to get to the upstairs bathroom, which was the safer option, since everyone else would’ve been using the one downstairs.  
“That wasn’t a story, that was a full on novel.”  
She said, as soon as the Hufflepuff locked the door. Not that it would’ve been that useful, if someone wanted to actually go in, but no one in the family would invade their privacy like that, knowing they were in there.

“Shut up.” Miyeon quickly replied, but she couldn’t hold the smile that was formed on her lips.   
She went to sit inside the bathtub, where Minnie was waiting with the Firewhisky bottle still in her hands.  
“Your sister saw me, I had to bribe her with candies.”  
Miyeon’s laugh filled the room, the sound was so clear and heartwarming Minnie smiled without even realizing it. She liked her best friend’s laugh a lot, she never tried to hide it. Or, to be precise, she never tried to hide it when it was just the two of them. When other people were around, she just felt the need not to look vulnerable, and the way that laugh crawled under her skin each and every time made her feel the most vulnerable she had ever been.

“I have a feeling she’ll be a Slytherin.” Miyeon said, taking the bottle from Minnie’s hands.  
She opened it and took the first sip. The Ravenclaw watched as her face distorted in that semi-disgusted frown, it always did, but her friend would not stop drinking anyway, which to Minnie was the funnier aspect of it all. Miyeon would get drunk way before she did and then she would start saying weird stuff just to make her laugh. It worked every time. 

It didn’t take them long to feel their heads spinning a little bit, while their chuckles came out without a reason at all. Just by looking at each other, they started laughing again. The bottle was half empty, but the two of them decided to put it aside, because going downstairs to have lunch looking wasted was not the greatest of ideas.

Miyeon was the first one to go serious after long minutes that felt like just few seconds and, for some reason she couldn’t even begin to explain, Minnie felt the need to stop smiling as well.   
After almost eighteen years she had pretty much full control over hey body, she always looked exactly how she wanted to look. On that day, she had red hair and blue eyes and she was able to maintain them even after drinking a lot of sips of Firewhisky.   
However, when Miyeon looked at her that way, all the control she thought she had disappeared. If she weren’t so focused on her best friend’s face, perhaps she would’ve noticed her eyes turning dark, almost pitch black. Clearly the Hufflepuff knew her well, she knew that – with Minnie’s gaze wandering to her lips – was her cue to adjust herself inside the tub and crawl up to Minnie.   
There was no need to talk, but Miyeon still smiled, her face just inches away from Minnie’s. “You’re so cute with this stupid sweater on.”

And that was it for Minnie, right? There was something about her best friend complimenting her, but teasing her at the same time. Something that set the sparkle in the first place and continued igniting whatever that was between them. Because Minnie knew they probably should’ve stopped, but no matter how many times she tried starting that conversation, looking at Miyeon bright eyes – she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.   
This time, in the bathtub with a good amount of alcohol running, the idea of ending things with her didn’t even cross her mind, not when the Hufflepuff’s breath crushed against her lips and her eyes were already closing.

The way they knew each other – it was fascinating. They could spend hours having non verbal conversations to a point they made other people uncomfortable, and even without looking at each other they understood everything they needed to.   
Miyeon shifted a bit, for example, and Minnie knew she was getting uncomfortable, so she placed her hands on her hips to make her sit on her lap, while she bit her lower lip, getting a small sigh out of her.   
Just as her lips parted, Minnie took the chance to deepen the kiss and let their tongues meet. She was tipsy enough to forget about lunch and when Miyeon moved her hips trying to release just a bit of tension between her legs, the Ravenclaw completely lost it. 

As the kiss got rougher, hungrier, Minnie went to unbutton the other one’s jeans, ready to take them off. Miyeon always had that effect on her. As much as she like flirting around, no one ever made her lose control like her best friend did, no one had ever been even close to make her forget about her appearance to the point she was not sure what her hair color was anymore.   
Not that she cared, when the Hufflepuff kissed her like that and lifted her body to give her permission to undress her. 

And Minnie would’ve. She would’ve put her hand inside Miyeon’s underwear and she would’ve watched her part lips in delight, too turned on to keep kissing her.   
That’s what she would’ve done, if they didn’t hear someone knocking at the door.   
“What the fuck are you doing?” Mac shouted with an annoyed tone in his voice and the two of them parted, but Miyeon was still sitting on Minnie’s lap. She had a smile on her face.  
“Mind your business.” Minnie replied, but her tone was _so_ deep she had to bite her own lower lip, worried her brother might’ve figured out. If he did, he didn’t say anything.  
“Look, we’re ready to eat, you have about two minutes to grow out of your drunk state. Good luck.”  
And with that, he just walked away. 

Fuck.  
“We’re screwed.” She said, but her friend seemed to find it way too funny, and she started laughing again. Maybe they were drunker than they realized, or at least Miyeon was.   
“We’re so screwed. Okay, get – get up.” Not because she actually wanted her to get up, but because thinking with her on her lap was even harder. Of course, she didn’t obey.  
“Baby, please.” She knew. She really, _really_ knew that was a terrible idea, but it was the only idea she had.  
Miyeon grew a smile twice as big as the last one, since the nickname did not went past unnoticed. That was the whole point. The fact that calling her that felt so natural and somehow right didn’t matter at the time, not when they had something else to worry about.  
The Hufflepuff finally got up, after leaving a kiss on Minnie’s neck, because _of course_ she had to make it extremely difficult for her. 

“You’re gonna hate me.” Minnie warned her, then she opened the shower, letting the water hit them both. It was freezing cold.   
Miyeon looked shocked, her giggly self soon replaced by an angry one.  
“ _What the fuck?_ ”  
“Good.” The water stopped flowing, and Minnie got out of the bathtub. “I had to. Come here, I’ll dry your clothes.” 

Miyeon was not happy about it, but she let her friend use the spell on her mainly because she was freezing to death. Minnie could see she was still pissed at her, it was kind of funny, but she stopped herself from laughing.  
“Stop sulking and let me redo your makeup.”  
Which, luckily, was not that crazy. Actually, they had an untold rule of putting on just the bare minimum for family events and it turned out to be more useful than they thought. Not even fifteen minutes later, they were both ready to go downstairs.  
Minnie unlocked the door, but before she could open it, Miyeon grabbed her wrist. As soon as she turned to ask her what the problem was, she felt her lips on hers. The kiss was chaste and way quicker than the last one, but it still made Minnie smile.  
“What was that for?”  
Miyeon didn’t answer.  
“Stay here tonight.”  
That sounded more like a promise than a request, and Minnie couldn’t really say no.

___________________________

The Seos were alone in London. Soojin’s family moved to England two years before the girl was born, so the rest of the family was still in Korea. They heard that the Asian Community was growing pretty fast after the Second Wizarding War ended and, seeing it as a chance to economically grow, they immediately took it.  
They weren’t wrong. In the span of ten years, they got more money they could’ve ever imagined. Now, being Mr. Jeon the Minister of Magic, her wealth was increasing even more.   
Her father, born in a very poor family, promised Soojin she would’ve never experienced what he did. She never asked for anything, but she still woke up in her silk sheets every morning with a hot chocolate ready on her side table. She had not secret to keep from her family, so she didn’t mind them entering her room without asking.

On Christmas she woke up earlier than usual, so it wasn’t a surprise her mug wasn’t there yet. Instead of waiting, she decided to get to the kitchen on her bare feet. Her house was never cold, it didn’t matter if it was snowing outside.   
“Oh, honey! I didn’t think you’d wake up so early.” She rounded the kitchen island just to place a kiss on her forehead. They always did that, both her and her father. “Merry Christmas.”  
They picked up the habit of celebrating it a long time ago, because Soojin always complained about seeing all the kids that got their presents and – well, it had always been about the presents, actually. She stopped caring when she grew up, but her parents still bought her something every year.  
“Merry Christmas mom. Where’s dad?”  
Soojin did not know Korean, because all they wanted was to make her feel at home in the United Kingdom, so they never bothered to teach her. She picked up a sentence or two when her relatives called, but she definitely didn’t know how to speak.   
“He should be back soon. He has some sort of big announcement to make and he wanted a cake for it. You know how dramatic he is.”  
She smiled. He really was dramatic, but she always found him cute.

“Hey, look what I found!”  
When he entered the kitchen, about half an hour later, he was holding the cake box with one hand and a small package in the other.  
“Merry Christmas, baby. I think this is for you.”  
The present was poorly wrapped with teddy bears paper, held it together by a lot of tape, and the letter indeed said her name. She didn’t recognize the hand writing, so it couldn’t have been one of her friends.  
She sat down on the counter to read the letter first.

“this is a time machine!! the best one  
you could find. It should take you out   
of middle age in a second.  
merry christmas JinJin,   
Shuhua.   
ps: when you work out how to use it,  
call me”

There was a smiling face drew at the end, that made Soojin giggle by herself. She had a feeling she knew what was in the box.   
Somehow, knowing Shuhua put effort in wrapping the gift, she didn’t want to tear the paper apart, so she carefully removed the tape and slid the box out of the wrapping. As expected, it was a newly bought cell phone, but the discovery still brought another smile on the Slytherin’s face.   
She even liked her new nickname, even though she would complain about it with the other girl, just because.  
Christmas was the day Seo Soojin broke her first promise, but she would’ve realized only later, because she told Hui she would’ve opened his gift first, but his little box remained forgotten under her tree for hours.

Shuhua wasn’t wrong, it took her more time than she would like to admit to figure out how to even turn on that thing. That’s why she didn’t like muggle technology, it was too complicated.   
Eventually she found the switch and she watched the opening screen pass by. Shuhua was considerate enough to set the phone before mailing it, because Soojin wouldn’t have been able to do it herself and her parents surely were no help.  
“Ah, interesting.” Her father said, looking at the screen from behind her shoulder. He did not know much about muggle culture as well, but he definitely wasn’t against it. “Who’s that?”  
Soojin felt her cheeks turn red and she thanked Merlin her parents, both behind her, couldn’t see it.  
“Shuhua, the girl that sent me this.” Because _of course_ she would put her picture as a lockscreen. “She’s new, she moved from China this year and she’s hanging out with us.”  
“That’s so nice of you, honey.” Her mother said, before going back to the stove where the hot cocoa was about to be ready.  
“I’m going to call her and thank her.”   
“But your chocolate –”  
“I’ll drink it later.”

As soon as she went up the stairs, Soojin pressed the call button without even checking the time.  
As a result, after a lot of ringing, she heard Shuhua’s sleepy voice.  
“Hello?” She mumbled.  
“Oh, it works!”   
Well, that was the whole point of a phone of course, but to Soojin every small thing was a surprise.  
“What time is it?”  
“Uh – oh, it’s eight. Sorry.”   
Shuhua complained, but she didn’t hang up. Actually, Soojin heard some noises the hinted at the fact she was slowly getting up.   
“You called, I’m proud of you.” There was a teasing tone in her voice, but Soojin let it slide. “Welcome to our century.”  
“Very funny. Thank you, by the way, I really like it. Especially your photo.”  
She heard a chuckle coming from the other end, so she smiled as well.  
“What are you doing today?”  
“Oh, uh – nothing, I guess? Dad might buy thai for dinner on his way home.”  
Soojin frowned. She knew Shuhua and her father probably didn’t celebrate Christmas, but the idea of the girl staying alone all day while the whole country was having big lunches and opening presents still didn’t sit right to her.  
“Is he working on Christmas?”  
“Yeah.”  
She heard a door opening, so Shuhua must’ve just come out of her room. She felt a bit guilty, waking her up so early. And she hated imagining her on her own for the whole day, bored to death, or _worse_ – doing homework, so the next request came without warning.  
“Come here. I mean – do you have a chimney linked to the Floo Network, right? I can give you my address and –”  
“But I don’t want to bother your family, if you celebrate Christmas it’s –”  
“We don’t. I mean, we do, but just because I wanted to get the presents as a child and the habit stayed.”  
Shuhua laughed again, she was clearly starting to wake up properly.  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes, I’m sure. My parents love to meet my friends, they know all the girls.”  
“Alright, I’ll get ready then.”  
“Bring your presents with you,” She knew the rest of the girls bought something for her. “We’ll open them after lunch.”

____________________________

She went through the chimney around eleven, she had makeup on and Soojin realized it was perhaps the first time she saw her with it. She wore an oversized cardigan and a pair of pants. Nothing much, which the older appreciated.   
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to be a liability.” She bowed before her parents and Soojin put a hand on her back, trying to get her to stand straight again.  
“Oh, dear, you’re not.” Her mother always knew what to say, the girl got always frustrated thinking about she did not got it from her. “We would never want Jin’s friends to spend the holidays alone.”  
“Merry Christmas, by the way.” She bowed again. Soojin smiled, thinking it was cute how polite she was with adults, while with them – well, she did let go way more.

Minute by minute, Shuhua put her initial shyness apart and, by the end of lunchtime, she was talking to her parents more than Soojin was.   
She would’ve never admitted it, but not even Soyeon fit that perfectly with her family. Of course, her parents were nice to all of her friends, but it seemed to always be a little bit of embarrassment, while from Shuhua there was none. It was like she spent Christmas with them since she was born.  
It felt so comfortable, her father didn’t mind making his announcement in front of her. The new job opportunity was nothing secret, of course.

Even in opening the presents she looked like part of the family and to think about it Soojin would’ve been worried, but she openly decided not to think about it. Christmas wasn’t made for worrying, during Christmas she just wanted to enjoy herself without thinking about the feelings she so desperately wanted to keep silent.  
Then something happened. When it was her turn to open the presents, she purposely started from the bigger one and went down from there. She knew what she was doing, because when she got to the last gift – a small box wrapped perfectly – her hands started to sweat.   
She didn’t want to open it, not in front of Shuhua. She kept looking at it, playing with the little ribbon on top, but in the end she quickly got up.   
“I’ll open this one later.” She announced, but she wasn’t brave enough to check her friend’s reaction, so she looked at her father instead. “What? I want to open it on my own.”  
It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either.  
“Shu, let’s go, I’ll show you my room.”

“Oh my God. Is that you?”  
Shuhua pointed at one of the pictures on her shelf; it was a ten months old baby with short hair, she was frowning at the camera. Of course it was her.  
“You never smiled, did you?”  
“Hey!” She grabbed the first thing she could find – a pillow – and she threw it in the girl’s direction. She hit her on her arm, but clearly she didn’t hurt her at all. “I smile.”  
“I’ve seen you smile like once in four months.”  
She threw the pillow back, but she missed Soojin completely, which was hard to believe, since she was a Quidditch player and all, so she must’ve done it on purpose.   
“Maybe it’s because you’re not funny enough.”  
Shuhua was, in fact, one of the funniest people she knew, but Soojin couldn’t drop her façade that easily. She had to watch the young get closer with a smirk on her face and suddenly she got scared. Not of her, she wasn’t as scary as she tried to be. She got scared of what her heart could’ve done this time, since she still remembered how fast it was beating once she recognized Shuhua’s scent.  
“I’m not funny enough then.”  
She knew she could’ve just said _yes_ , she was funny, but the proud part of herself took control. There was something else too, some sort of curiosity to see what would’ve been Shuhua’s next move, but she couldn’t precisely place that feeling.

It turned out Shuhua’s next move was the worst thing that could’ve happened, because she started pinching her hips over and over again, until Soojin fell onto the bed, brought to tears for how much she was laughing.   
Shuhua, still standing in front of her, smiled proudly. “See? I’m funny, I’ve never seen you laugh like this before.”  
“This doesn’t count, you cheated.”  
“You never said anything about rules.”  
Soojin scoffed, but there wasn’t much she could say; she indeed didn’t mention any rule, she just had to give her the win. 

“Give me your phone.”   
Shuhua took a sit on the bed, right next to her, and lifted a hand waiting for the phone to be placed on her palm.   
“I know you’re more than happy seeing my face every time you turn the screen on, but how about _we_ take a picture together? So everyone will think I’m your girlfriend.”

She knew Shuhua was kidding, trying to mess with her, but she still felt the heat on her cheeks and she had to turn away to hide it from the younger.   
“If you put it like that, I don’t want to.”  
Not that it was an actual request, since Shuhua had already turned the camera on and she soon placed an arm around Soojin’s neck. Just a second before clicking, she turned to place her lips on the older’s lips and Soojin let out a scream, attempting to get away.  
As a result, the picture came out blurry, half of Soojin’s face was out of the frame and Shuhua was leaning onto her. It didn’t matter, because the girl seemed to like it, as she stood up from the bed with the phone still in her hands and started jumping around, giggling at the same time.  
Soojin complained, because of course she wouldn’t admit that seeing the other so excited made her stomach flip upside down. She wasn’t sure it was a good sign, she never experience that feeling so strongly before.  
“This pictures are so stupid, they don’t even move.”

Just like before, Shuhua didn’t care. With a proud look on her face, she returned the phone only after setting the picture as a lockscreen, which was when she first looked at the clock over their faces.   
“Fuck, it’s so late. Dad will be home any minute.”  
She started collecting her stuff, putting it all in the little backpack she used to bring her presents. Soojin stood up.  
“He doesn’t know you’re here?”  
“Of course not, he was already gone when I got up. Besides –” She looked at her with a guilty expression. “He doesn’t want me to get out if not necessary, he’s scared something could happen to me.”  
“He’s right.” Soojin adjusted the girl’s cardigan without even realizing it, too busy looking at her eyes. “But you didn’t get out and the Floo Network is safe. As long as you don’t go outside by yourself, right?”

She had gotten better are reading Shuhua’s eyes, or maybe the girl decided to let her read her emotions on purpose. What mattered was that Soojin could see she was scared, even if she didn’t flinch for a single moment.  
“I guess.” She whispered and only then the older realized how close they where once again.   
She hesitated for some moments, before pulling away with a shy smile. “Good. See you on New Years then?”  
“Oh, right. I’ll add you to the group chat, the other will freak out.” She giggled, the feeling in Soojin’s stomach grew. “See you on New Years, yeah. Goodnight, JinJin.”  
“Goodnight, Shu.”

________________________________

Being best friends since they couldn’t even talk had a lot of bright sides. One of them, which they only discovered that summer, was that their parents wouldn’t be suspicious at them sleeping together. They let them close the door because that’s what they did since they were thirteen or something like that. They never invaded their privacy and that was the best case scenario for the two of them.   
At that point of the night, Miyeon had taken care of Minnie more than once already and the Ravenclaw was more than happy to slide down and place her head between the other one’s legs. She knew how much her best friend wanted it. She had seen it in her eyes the moment she called her what she called her back in the bathtub, and then again when their gazes met while they were playing games with the whole family.  
Miyeon eyes sparkled differently the whole day and, as much as Minnie was aware it was wrong – _so fucking wrong_ – she just couldn’t help it. Having her best friend looking at her like that made her mind, her whole body actually, shut down.

Hearing her moan under her touch was just enough to let Minnie completely forget about what she worried about throughout the whole day. She just wanted Miyeon to feel good, she wanted to feel her pleasure and see her tired, but smiling face right after.   
She surely couldn’t predict things going down so quickly.   
As her tongue put more pressure and her fingers found their way inside Miyeon, moving faster each second, the girls moan became louder. It was impossible trying to figure out if she was saying actual words or nothing at all. Minnie was sure she heard her name a couple of times, but that was it.

Or it would’ve been it, if Miyeon didn’t moan the worst thing she could moan right when the climax hit her. She had one hand holding Minnie’s hair really tight, the other arm was on her face, covering her own eyes. From the parted lips, it came out of nowhere. “I love you.” 

None of them said anything after. Minnie got up on her knees, pressing her swollen lips to a point they became white. She could barely see Miyeon in the dark of the room, but she noticed the Hufflepuff was still covering half of her face with her arm.  
She didn’t know what to do. The easier way would’ve been to say it back, but she would’ve never lied to her just for the sake of it, so she sighed, placing a hand on her friend’s leg.  
“Miyeon.”

She didn’t get a response at first, but after a few seconds Miyeon took her arm away from her eyes and decided to sit down. Her legs where on Minnie’s side, sort of hugging her, but she didn’t dare touch her with her hands yet. Her eyes were wet.  
Yet again there was no need to talk for them to both understand what was happening, but Minnie though she owed her at least an explanation.  
“You know you’re the person I love the most in the whole world, right?”  
“I know.” Miyeon whispered, placing her forehead against Minnie’s.  
“And I don’t want to break your heart –”  
“Then don’t.”  
She wish Miyeon would’ve let her finish her speech, because it got harder second by second. The fact that the Hufflepuff kept leaving kisses on her lips, whispering “Don’t” every now and then, made it almost impossible. 

Minnie brought her hands to cup her best friend’s face, so that she could keep her away long enough to recollect herself. She felt like her chest was being stabbed multiple times, it was the most painful feeling she had ever experienced.  
“I can’t keep doing this when I know we’re not in the same place.” Because they were not. She still didn’t want the commitment. “We have to stop.”

She had no idea how much time had passed with them just sitting in front of each other, their foreheads still touching, Minnie’s thumbs caressing Miyeon’s cheeks. They got wet, and that’s when she new the other started crying.  
“Don’t, please.”  
She promised, a long time ago, that she would’ve killed anyone who dared to make her best friend suffer, but she never thought it would’ve been herself, out of all people, causing her tears to stream down her face. Miyeon couldn’t stop and it brought Minnie to cry herself. “Please.” She whispered again. How she wish she could take all her pain away.  
“I think you should go.”  
Miyeon’s voice was raspy, broken, but her words couldn’t have been clearer. Minnie bit her own lower lip, but tried to hide how much that simple sentence had hurt her. She screwed everything up. She just ruined the best thing she had going on in her life and for what?, just to have fun for a few months.   
She was so fucking selfish, she didn’t deserve Miyeon. Up until then, she thought she was the only one who deserved her, but she was clearly wrong. She really should’ve left her alone.

After nodding for a moment or two, Minnie got up, walking around the room to find her clothes. She managed to put on only her underwear and her jeans, before having to stop. She felt two arms around her waist, Miyeon’s breast pressed against her bare back, her lips on her neck.  
She didn’t notice, but she was shaking more than the Hufflepuff was.  
“You can’t leave me. We promised.”  
She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to get back under the blanket to fall asleep holding her in her arms. The seven years old Minnie was screaming her not to leave, because they indeed just promised to each other they would always be together, no matter what.  
They didn’t take that promise lightly, but Minnie still had Miyeon’s tear on her hands and she just couldn’t shake the image of her face off her own mind. She couldn’t stay, if it meant she would’ve had to hurt her again.  
“I’m not. I’m not leaving you, I promise.”  
She put her hands over Miyeon’s and closed her eyes for a moment, so that she could gather the courage to slide away from her hug. She turned around, locking eyes with her best friend. She was still crying. So was Minnie.  
“I’m not leaving you, but we need to be apart just for a little bit.”  
It costed every bit of strength she had, but in the end she managed to find and wear her ugly Christmas sweater.   
“I love you too.”  
But it was a different kind of love, they both knew it was. Then, she disappeared with a pop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know why i'm doing this to mimin, don't come for me TT  
> on a brighter note (i guess), i found out i reeeeally enjoy writing from minnie's pov like a lot  
> well next chapter is new years sooo... yea see you there ^^


	11. of red smoke and realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well... yeah i kind of felt inspired today so this chapter is up earlier than expected i guess   
> and i also planned all the chapters to come, so i finally added the exact number (might be 19 in the end, but that's about it)  
> as usual, thank you so much for all the nice comments, they really keep me going! 
> 
> ( tw: use of drugs )

Hui came back on the 30th and, to Soojin’s surprise, he reached out through the chimney system. Her father didn’t look that happy seeing her getting ready to go out with a boy, but he didn’t say anything. He was jealous, but he never tried to control her life.   
She quickly put on a V neck sweater, her favorite pair of jeans and she grabbed a handful of Floo powder, headed to the Leaky Cauldron. He was already there, waiting for her, and his face brightened up as soon as the girl came out of the chimney.   
She smiled back, letting him kiss her on the lips. They didn’t actually talked about it, but by the looks of things, they were obviously dating, which was exactly what she had in mind when she kissed him under the mistletoe.  
“You’re waring it.”  
 _It_ being his Christmas present, a heart shaped necklace she really liked. She actually thought about getting an identical tattoo on her shoulder once, but let the idea go, since she knew her father would’ve never approved.   
“Of course, I love it.”  
He looked happy about it, Soojin’s heart jumped, irradiating the same kind of warmth she always felt next to the boy.

While they were walking down Diagon Alley’s main street, Hui told her everything about Spain. How the weather was definitely better than what they had in London, how people were extremely friendly, how the places he visited were _incredible_. He really liked Spain, he was also thinking of moving there after graduation. Which was only six months away, but to Soojin it still felt like a lifetime. She was not bothered about having to part, not yet.  
“Wait, Shuhua gave you a phone?”  
He seemed to find the news pretty funny, since apparently _everyone_ knew she wasn’t able to use them.  
“Yes, and she also set herself as a screenlock.”  
“Lockscreen.”  
She rolled her eyes and he laughed even louder, causing a few people to turn around to look at them.  
“I didn’t bring it with me, I think all the magic here would break it.”  
That was the reason why muggle technology didn’t work in Hogwarts after all, because centuries of magic concentrated in one place fried any piece of tech. A lot of students tried to sneak in a phone or any sorts of objects, but everything always exploded in their hands sending them straight to the infirmary.  
“I can write you my number on a piece of paper. You know how to register numbers, right?”  
She didn’t answer. Because the answer would be _no_ , but her pride stopped her from saying it. It didn’t matter, because Hui understood anyway and he laughed again.

“I’ll ask one of the girls to do it for me tomorrow.”  
“Oh.”  
Oh? Oh _what?_ He looked disappointed and Soojin had no idea what she did. She should’ve figure out how to register his number on her own? It didn’t make a lot of sense, sulking for something like that, Hui surely wasn’t five years old.  
“I thought we would spent New Years together.”  
 _Oh._  
She didn’t think about it even for a second, but now that Hui brought it up, perhaps she should’ve. That’s what couples do, right? They spend New Years together, celebrate at midnight, maybe drink a little, then go home and – she blushed, looking at the ground.  
“I already promised them.”  
“And there’s no way you can cancel? I’m sure they’d understand.”  
They would understand for sure, but Soojin didn’t want to bail on them. They always spent New Years together, even when Miyeon had a boyfriend – she couldn’t even remember his name – she still spent it with them. She wanted to do the same.  
She made eye contact with him, lifting her lips in a guilty smile. He sighed, then he nodded a couple of times. “Okay.”  
“Hui…”  
“It’s fine.” It clearly wasn’t fine, but he also didn’t want to be a weight for her. That’s why she liked him, he really tried to never get mad, but sometimes – sometimes it was fine to be mad, she would’ve been mad at her, if positions were switched. Couples spent New Years together.  
“I’m sorry.”  
“It’s okay.” His smile was weak, perhaps the weakest she had ever seen on his face. She hated doing it to him, but she still couldn’t decide to change her plans. “I’m actually tired, do you mind if we head home? I want to unpack now so I can sleep early.”  
She knew it was just an excuse, but she agreed.

_______________________________

It turned out the few friends of Mac’s that were invited for New Years told some other few friends, and they told others. Minnie was all over the place, trying to secure the majority of her parents’ souvenirs from all over the world, while cursing at her brother out loud.   
Not that she could be heard, since the music in the apartment was louder than her voice. The five of them stood in the living room, but they didn’t look like they were having the time of their lives.  
“Well, no fireworks I guess.” Soojin said, staring at the people in the living room.  
Which was their final decision; they would’ve got to the London Eye and watched the fireworks before going to grab drinks.   
Yuqi didn’t say it, but she was kind of relieved. First of all, they wouldn’t have to worry about keeping an eye on Shuhua, who told them everything about the events in McGonagall’s office right before the holidays started, and second – well, she liked wizard’s parties way better than stupid, normal fireworks.   
They were fascinating, with all the drinks floating around, the lights coming out of the wands. She hadn’t been to a lot of parties in the wizarding world, but every time she did attend one, she found out something new.  
“What’s with those faces? It’s a party!”   
She really didn’t know why she had to drag them around on New Years – of course she knew Soojin and Soyeon were going to be shy about it, but she thought she could at least count on Miyeon to liften the mood, but the Hufflepuff looked like her dog just died or something. As for Shuhua – well, she would’ve gone past her shyness soon enough.  
Yuqi grabbed Soyeon’s arm and completely ignored her when she whined about it. “Come on, this could be fun.”

It turned out _it was_ fun, at least for her. She found some golden coins lying on the ground, and even if the Ravenclaw told her they would vanish in a few hours, she kept them anyway, just in case.  
“What is a Leprechaun doing here anyway?”  
“They show up at every party, drunk people are easy to scam. Sometimes it’s even easier with sober, but dumb people.”  
She gave her an annoyed look, before hitting her on the shoulder, but Soyeon just laughed in return, satisfied about Yuqi’s reaction, so she couldn’t really be mad at her. Besides, her attention was caught by an object she had never seen before in her life.   
It was a bowl, sitting a wooden counter in the living room, and a lot of red smoke was coming out of it. The smoke didn’t spread in the room, but was caught back by the bowl itself constantly, making it impossible for it to run out.  
“What’s that?”  
Soyeon shrugged.  
“You know Minnie’s parents, they buy a lot of weird stuff.”  
For the majority of wizards the Yontararak were indeed weird, with all their peculiar theories and objects and the fact that they wore strange accessories and on top of that they even had a Metamorphmagus daughter, but to Yuqi they were absolutely awesome.   
She moved closer to the piece of furniture, ready to take the bowl in her hands to find out what the red smoke was all about, but she felt something hitting the back of her head. As soon as she turned around, Minnie was standing in front of her with a very, _very_ pissed look on her face and her wand in her left hand. Even her hair was black, which wasn’t exactly the look for a party, but Yuqi preferred not to bring it up. What mattered was that she fucking threw a charm on her head, like – who does that?

“Don’t smoke it. You’d get too high and I really, really don’t want to babysit you tonight.”  
The Gryffindor immediately put on a grunge, offended by Minnie’s assumption she would need a babysitter. She could take a bit of smoke, even though she had never done it before. It couldn’t be that different from drinking two or three glasses, and since she definitely didn’t like being told what to do, let alone being treated like a child, of course she had to turn around now.  
She grabbed the bowl in her hands and she put her face over it. Soyeon and Soojin tried to stop her, Minnie cursed, Shuhua laughed, Miyeon just looked at her with concern, but it was all useless. She still inhaled, then everything went black.

____________________________

A few hours in, Soojin couldn’t take it anymore.  
Yuqi, after feeling the need to prove she was the dumbass Gryffindor everyone knew her for, was more energetic than usual, which by itself was a lot. Somehow she convinced a pissed off Soyeon that it was fine and that they were going to have the time of their lives. She left them alone, because the dancing became too – well. High Yuqi was touchy, she didn’t want to see it.  
Miyeon was chatting with her housemates, avoiding eye contact with Minnie – who eventually calmed down and started to enjoy the party –, which made her think something happened between the two.  
Shuhua had disappeared about an hour before, following a blonde haired girl, and Soojin’s stomach clenched, but she decided to ignore it.   
She walked down the corridor, getting to the side of the apartment where the bedrooms were. She opened Minnie’s and she was lucky enough no one decided to use it as a place to make out yet. After she closed the door behind her, she let out a sigh of relief. That was not was she was expecting from that night at all.

She looked around and she found out Minnie’s room was almost exactly like she remembered from that summer. She often complained about her parents, but her room was just as colorful as the rest of the house and some of the objects, she couldn’t even name.  
What she _could_ name was the damn pink flamingo looking at her from Minnie’s bed. The stuffed animal was Miyeon’s gift for one of her birthdays and the girl seemed to love it beyond logical explanation; it was annoying how, once turned on, it repeated every word it heard and the worst thing was that Yuqi wanted to use it all the time, a few months back, just to give her a hard time.  
It was a miracle Soojin hadn’t thrown it out of the window already. She still grabbed it by the neck to throw it on the chair though, because she for sure didn’t want to lay on the bed with that thing next to her. 

She stared at the stars and planets dancing on the ceiling for what it felt like hours, until she heard the door being opened again, followed by Minnie’s surprised “Oh, you’re here.”  
She got on the bed with her, letting out a sigh that sounded much like Soojin’s one from before. They said nothing for minutes, then Minnie shifted closer to put her head on the Slytherin’s shoulder.   
“Why are you not with your boyfriend?”  
At that point, she didn’t even know why she insisted to stay there instead of going to a place where she could’ve had more fun. Of course, Avery and his group of friends were literal douchebags, but at least Hui would’ve kept her company.  
“Why are you not with your girlfriend?”  
Minnie took awhile to answer.  
“She’s not my girlfriend.”  
Soojin didn’t believe it anymore, since if there were no feeling involved, that thing they had going on wouldn’t have lasted that long.  
“I ended it on Christmas.”  
She lifted her eyebrows, a little concerned about the timing.  
“On Christmas? You had months and you did it on Christmas. Way to ruin someone’s holiday.”  
Minnie grunted, but she didn’t actually try to excuse herself, which meant she felt guilty enough by herself. Soojin grabbed her hand into hers, squeezing it tight.  
“You did the right thing.”  
She had no idea what really happened between them, not when it started nor how it went and definitely not why it ended exactly. She knew that if Minnie wanted to talk about it, she would talk about it, but she didn’t, so maybe she still needed some time to process. 

“Why are we the only one hiding in the bedroom on New Years?”  
“Because we’re assholes.”  
Minnie chuckled, apparently she agreed.   
“Maybe we should make out, so that we don’t feel lonely.”  
She showed Soojin her bunny teeth, but the Slytherin scuffed, before covering Minnie’s face with her palm.   
“Stop. Even if I was gay” and she wasn’t, “you wouldn’t be my type.”  
Minnie held a grunge for a few seconds, but then she couldn’t resist showing her a big smirk that promised nothing good. Soojin went back to stare at the ceiling, feeling suddenly more uncomfortable that she should’ve.   
“And what would that be, hm?” The Ravenclaw surely knew how to be annoying when she wanted to. She felt her gaze on her, but she still didn’t turn around to face her. She knew looking at her in the eyes would’ve been a big mistake.  
“Maybe a medium sized girl with black, long hair? A Quidditch player that has everyone at her feet but still she l –”  
For some reason, she didn’t want to listen to the rest of Minnie’s _random_ description, so she got on her side, grabbed her friend’s face with a hand and got closer to her face.  
“Did you smoke with Yuqi?” She asked, even though Minnie’s eyes weren’t red at all. “Whatever. I don’t want to listen to your nonsense at midnight, I’m going back.”  
She didn’t fail to catch Minnie’s satisfied smile, before she got up and reached the door.  
“I think you should talk to Miyeon, before she finds a random boy to kiss at midnight.”  
Perhaps she shouldn’t have planted that doubt in he friend’s mind, but she sort of wanted to get back at her for doing the same. 

______________________________________

Yuqi was extremely happy. Her head felt light, she lost control of her body, it was almost like she was floating and it was the best feeling she had ever experienced. Well, after Soyeon’s lips on hers. Speaking of which, they had been dancing for ten or fifteen minutes (according to Soyeon it was more than an hour) and if Yuqi noticed the other girl looking around to check if someone was looking at them, she definitely pretended not to.  
She couldn’t feel her arms, her legs felt – they felt like a jellyfish, exactly like it, she thought, letting out a chuckle that was lost in the room’s chaos. She wished she could live like a jellyfish for a whole day, maybe she should’ve flooded Minnie’s house to see what happened.   
The point was – what was the point? She lost track of her train of thoughts, but soon enough Soyeon’s hands on her neck brought her back to reality. Or at least, what was reality for her right then; lights dancing in front of her eyes, music that arrived distorted to her ears, a smell of alcohol and red smoke and the Ravenclaws hair. 

_The point was_ , she remembered with a smile, that she loved the feeling. Her senses didn’t work like they were supposed to, they worked _better._ Like when she put her lips on Soyeon’s neck, she could taste everything. The bitterness of her perfume, the slight saltiness of her sweat and that indescribable taste that only Soyeon had. When she added teeth, she heard a loud squeal in her ear, so she laughed against her skin, lifting her head up right after.   
Soyeon’s eyes were dancing in front of hers and it was annoying how they couldn’t stop, but it was also funny enough to make her laugh again. She put a hand on the Ravenclaw’s cheek, or what she thought was her cheek, but she felt her lips under her thumb. She smiled, pinching Soyeon’s lower lips between two fingers, and she completely ignored the other’s complaint.  
“Let’s go hide in Minnie’s room.”  
Because dancing for ten minutes, or an hour, got her thinking that she wanted to take the next step right there. At midnight. Because the thing you do on New Years, you’re supposed to do them all year, and she _really_ wanted to do that all year.  
“Why don’t we get you some fresh air instead?”

The balcony looked huge. It also looked wavy, like the ground was moving to let her fall, but Yuqi tried her best to stand on her feet. She might’ve held onto Soyeon’s a couple times, but she was more than happy to take the merit of getting to the railing by herself.  
If someone else had the same idea of getting outside, she didn’t notice.   
She felt a pat on her head and she tried to complain about being treated like a baby again, but all that got out of her lips was yet another chuckle. For some reason she couldn’t stop laughing, even after getting hit by London’s cold air.  
She didn’t care about watching the city as much as Soyeon did, so she placed herself between the other girl and the railing with a smile on a smirk on her face. The Ravenclaw chuckled, hitting her forehead with her index finger.   
“If Minnie saw the way you’re smiling, she’d never let you breathe.”  
Yuqi wasn’t sure she fully understood what the other meant, but she still played along, scuffing in response.

“I’m trying to – to –”  
What was she trying to do, she would never tell, because Soyeon’s eyes finally stopped moving so much and Yuqi could see the older’s face clearly. She still had a taunting smile on her lips, but the Gryffindor ignored it; she wanted to kiss her now that no one could see them, so she did. She pressed their lips together, surprisingly getting access to Soyeon’s mouth right away.  
Their tongues played for some time, before Yuqi remembered she wanted to tell her something really important, so she pulled away. She smiled again, feeling her head spinning a little less than before.  
“I want to make love.”  
She definitely didn’t expect what came next, because Soyeon, instead of being impressed, just let out a loud laugh, taking a step back. And she couldn’t stop laughing for a long time, so the Gryffindor frowned, starting to get seriously offended. Like – _what the fuck?_  
“What?” She whined loudly, crossing her arms.  
“I’m sorry –” Soyeon calmed down eventually, but she still shook her head. “That was cute.”  
Well, Yuqi wasn’t trying to be cute _at all_ , so her grunge only grew more visible.   
“Come on! How am I supposed to take you seriously if you say stuff like that?”  
“I meant it.”  
“I know, but no one says ‘make love’ anymore.” She started laughing again, so Yuqi hit her. Or, to be more precise, she tried to hit her three times ending up punching air, and the fourth she could barely reach her arm, so it was more like a pat than anything else.

They stayed silent for ten more seconds, Yuqi’s grunge still not disappearing, then Soyeon got very close once again.  
“We’re not having sex when you can’t even count to ten.”  
The Gryffindor raised her eyebrows, getting from the other one’s words what she needed to know: if she could count to ten, they would have sex.  
“Of course I can count to ten!” But being herself, she just couldn’t stop there, she had to prove she could do so much more than that. “I could count to a hundred – no, I could count to a thousand if I wanted to!”  
Soyeon had gotten way to good at that little game, so she smiled, nodding briefly.   
“Do it then. If you count to a thousand, we will do it.”  
Yuqi’s lips parted, but no sound came out of them. She could’ve just settled for ten, she actually could do ten, but a thousand? It looked harder than catching a Golden Snitch.  
“I said _if_ I wanted to, but I don’t want to.”  
That didn’t get her out of the sticky situation, because the other girl kept smiling, bringing her arms around her neck. “Not today.” She whispered, before kissing her again. 

That was when the countdown started, as Yuqi heard a lot of voices coming from inside the apartment.   
She didn’t give the numbers too much attention, lost into the kiss at a point she thought only two seconds had passed, but the fireworks had already set off in the distance and people were back at celebrating in Minnie’s house.   
When they finally pulled away, Yuqi’s head was spinning just like before, but she wasn’t sure it was the smoke’s fault this time. She was feeling more stable, she had control of her arms again and that jellyfish feeling was slowly disappearing, but having her eyes meeting Soyeon’s brought it all back.

She liked Soyeon a lot. They way she was shorter than her, her smirk whenever she had fun teasing her, her focused expression when she read something hard to understand, her wide smile when she brought her to that vinyl store just the week before. She really, really, really like Soyeon.  
“I like you too, you dumbass.”  
Apparently she said it out loud, even though that’s not what she meant to. It was fine, because the Ravenclaw response made her heart beat fast, so fast the other girl noticed, and placed a hand on her chest, right where the organ was.  
It was more than fine, actually, having Soyeon to look at her like that. It was all she could ask for.

___________________________________

When Soojin found her way back to the living room, walking past a sea of people (did the voice spread even more?), it was almost midnight. She saw Miyeon on the couch with a drink in her hand, she was still talking with the Hufflepuffs from before. She didn’t know them, so she stayed away, the scene was already way too chaotic to be thinking about socializing with strangers.  
Yuqi and Soyeon were nowhere to be found, but in all honesty she didn’t want to hang out with them, because when the countdown would’ve started – well, that’s what couples did, she couldn’t blame them.  
Since she left Minnie in her bedroom, there was only one people left to find, and the idea of entering the new year with her by her side made her anxious. She still didn’t back off, searching the area with her eyes to try and find a girl with long, black hair. Quidditch player, she had everyone at her feet, but –   
There was no _but_ at the end of that sentence, she should’ve told Minnie. Because once she found her, she wished she could go back in time of a couple of minutes and stop looking for Shuhua.

The younger was standing with her back against the wall, she had a smile – probably a bit drunk – on her face while listening to whatever the blonde girl had to tell her. She placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning in to whisper something to her ear.  
Soojin wanted to look away, it wasn’t her business, but she couldn’t.

_Ten._  
Shuhua saw her, standing in the middle of the living room, while everyone else was dancing, or kissing, or walking past.  
 _Nine._  
She looked away, her attention taken by Penelope _something_ again.  
 _Eight._  
She closed her eyes once the Hufflepuff put a hand on her cheek.  
 _Seven_  
Their lips touched.  
 _Six._  
The kiss deepened immediately, and Soojin felt sick at the same time. She shouldn’t have had all those drinks back then, because they were catching up to her.  
 _Five._  
Soojin was ready to turn around and leave, but Shuhua’s eyes opened, scouting the room.  
 _Four._  
They found her exactly where she stood the whole time and, when they met hers, Soojin froze in place. It seemed like time froze too.  
The next three seconds went by unnoticed by the older girl and so did the collective “Happy New Year”, the confetti and the lightnings coming out of several wands all together. All she could see was how Shuhua, while kissing that girl, was staring right into her eyes.  
She thought she didn’t let any emotion transpire, but she was clearly wrong, since Shuhua’s lips formed a smirk right after. 

She had no time at all to unwrap all the feelings inside her chest, or the feelings messing with her head, or the unfamiliar feeling between her legs, because the next thing she knew, someone grabbed her by the shoulder, forcing her to turn around.  
She was met by a pair of brown, kind eyes and a smile that hit her like someone had just slapped her. Hui was standing there, happy as she had never seen him, and all that she could think about was the girl behind her and how much she wanted to drive her away from Penelope _something._  
“I’m sorry.” He panted, but his smile never left his face. “I couldn’t find you before midnight, but I hope it still counts.”  
Because that was what couple did for New Years. They stayed together, they kissed. Hui gave up his pride and looked for her because he liked her _that_ much. So he and Soojin stayed together, they kissed. They were a couple, after all, it didn’t matter how many times Soojin forgot.  
“Want to come home with me?”  
She bit her lower lip, turning around to look for someone that wasn’t there anymore.   
“Of course.”  
She wanted to. She really wanted to go home with Hui, because he felt warm and he felt stable. Stable was what she liked, nothing else. 

______________________________

Minnie complained as soon as her back hit the wooden door of her own room, but she smiled right after. She smoke a bit in the end, but she was nowhere near Yuqi’s state. She was just light-headed enough to be kissing someone right after midnight.   
She had wanted it for so long and finally she could say those lips were hers, at least for the night. They were soft and they tasted like a mix of alcohol and fruit, which made the Ravenclaw smile against them. She ran her tongue over the girl’s upper lip, but she pulled back right after that.  
Minnie liked to play after all.  
The girl was slightly shorter than her and she usually looked cute, but that night, with red, swollen lips and glowing eyes – fuck. She looked hot, that was all. Lia looked extremely hot and Minnie was lucky enough to spend the first hours of the year with her. 

She kissed her again, touching the door blindly to look for the key. Once she locked it, she grabbed Lia’s top with both hands and she lifted it over her head. She didn’t look at her before jumping on her lips another time.   
They slowly started to walk towards the bed, touching each other on every inch of skin they could find, and when Minnie’s legs felt the mattress, she sat down, leading the girl to sit on her lap, with her legs on Minnie’s sides. 

The more they went on with it, the less Minnie felt. Lia was hot, but that was it. She hated herself for it, because she had been flirting with this awesome girl for months, and when she finally got her – all her mind could think about was that she didn’t taste like her. Her hands didn’t feel like her. She couldn’t get lost in her eyes. Her touch didn’t shook like she did.   
And when she felt Lia’s hands on her pants, ready to take them off, she quickly grabbed her wrists, pulling away from the kiss. “Wait, wait, wait.”   
She was out of breath, so she used it as an excuse not to look at her straight away. She was a coward, she knew that, but speaking her mind on matters like this was not as easy as some people made it look like.  
“Did I do something wrong?” Her worried tone made it harder.  
“No, it’s – uh, I…”  
“Miyeon?”

Minnie frowned, finally looking up. Was it that obvious? Was she the last one to notice?  
She could’ve said Miyeon had nothing to do with it at all, but she was so astonished by the realization that she couldn’t pronounce a single word. She let go of Lia’s wrist and the girl stood up, collecting her top from the ground. After wearing it again, she looked at her with a smile.  
“What are you doing here? Go.”  
She was right. _Fuck,_ she was so right. It was about Miyeon, of course it was. There was a reason she hadn’t slept, actually she hadn’t kissed another person since that summer. There was a reason her best friend’s eyes were able to take her to a whole other planet and back in a matter of seconds.   
She loved her. She refused to see it up until that moment, but she did love her that way. She couldn’t have loved anyone else, actually, because she was Miyeon’s and Miyeon was hers on a level that no one would ever understand.   
They belonged to each other, but Minnie fucked everything up.  
She needed to find her.

_________________________________

She didn’t feel tipsy anymore, but she had another problem in her hands.  
Her and Penelope made out for a bit, but then she wasn’t feeling it anymore. It had nothing to do with Soojin leaving the party with Hui, she told herself. She knew it was a lie.  
She wanted to go home as well, but Minnie didn’t have a chimney in her apartment and the one she used to get there was in a pub down the street.   
She knew she shouldn’t have wandered off by herself, but she didn’t know what to do. Miyeon was already home, she said goodbye half an hour after the midnight. Yuqi and Soyeon were still kissing on the balcony – did they ever get tired? like, holy sh – and Minnie disappeared with a girl she didn’t really know.  
She could’ve just waited for one of them to walk her down the street, but she didn’t want to wait. She was feeling more tired each minute, her feet hurt, her head hurt, her chest hurt. She needed some sleep.  
She put on her coat ten minutes later, once she realized no one would be free before at least three in the morning and she definitely didn’t want to wait that long.

It was freezing outside, the air stung Shuhua’s face so much that she couldn’t feel her nose just after a few steps. To her relief she wasn’t the only one leaving the party that early, so she felt relatively safer, walking down the street when it wasn’t deserted.   
Sadly being alone meant she had time to think. Her mind immediately flew to Soojin’s face as soon as their eyes met right when the countdown was coming to an end. She didn’t expect to read them like she did, but she found in them a lot of what Soojin was trying to hide.  
It wasn’t enough. She still left with him, and Shuhua knew what people did on nights like that one. 

She got so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice everyone around her was gone, but by the time she realized she was already in front of the pub’s entrance. All she needed to do was get inside, get a handful of Floo Powder and that was it, she would’ve been home in no time.  
When she put a foot on the first step, the pub’s door opened, letting out a man taller than her. He had almond shaped eyes, hair so short he looked bald and a serious look on his face.  
Shuhua’s heart was pounding, but the man went just down the three steps that brought to the pub. 

As soon as she let out a sigh of relief, she felt a big hand on her arms and, before she could even realize what happened, she got caught in a vortex. They both disappeared from the street, but no one noticed a thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you have no idea how difficult it is for me to write about gryffindors' stupidity (ily if you're a gryffindor sorry hehe)...  
> other than that, the part where she was high was kind of funny lol but don't do drugs kids seariously  
> for the sooshu part i took inspiration from a scene of one of my favorite ships and changed it a bit, i liked the idea  
> aaaand i left you with a cliffhanger i know, guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter   
> hope you're having a wonderful day :)


	12. of secrets and birthdays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone, just wanted to say thank you again for all the support, i never expected all this when i started writing, i'm really really happy  
> well, this is the last chapter before they go back to hogwarts, hope you enjoy!
> 
> ( tw: throwing up, blood, use of drugs )

It was her first experience with apparition and she really hoped it would be the last one.   
As soon as her feet touched the ground, her stomach couldn’t take it anymore and, considering she drank quite a lot and she was already feeling nauseous after the party, it shouldn’t have been a surprise what came next.  
She tried to fight it, but she did throw up on the wooden floor in the end, gaining a woman’s annoyed complaint in return. She was still feeling too dizzy to focus on anything in the room, but when she felt a pair of big hands on her, she tried to back away. The man didn’t try again, she didn’t realize he already got what he was looking for.

“ _Hello, Shuhua. You’re quite hard to track down._ ” The woman said in Shuhua’s mother tongue.  
Finally starting to breathe normally again, the girl could see the surroundings a lot better. She noticed the floor was already clean, but then her attention was taken by the person standing in front of her. She had black long hair, almond shaped dark eyes and a little scar on her upper lip.   
“ _Your friends just wouldn’t leave you alone, would they?_ ”  
“ _That was the point._ ” She sharply said, putting a hand on her own coat to try and locate her wand. She couldn’t find it.  
“ _Oh, Li borrowed you wand, I hope you don’t mind._ ”  
She minded. A lot.  
“ _You shouldn’t use magic out of school anyway, right? You’re still underage._ ”

And the Ministry couldn’t find her, if she didn’t activate the Trace with a charm. Watching on the side, out of the window, she noticed a street she knew pretty well. They were in Diagon Alley and, judging by the design of the bedroom, that was the Leaky Cauldron. If she shouted loud enough, perhaps someone would’ve heard her from the streets or from the lower story of the pub.   
The woman sighed and that was when Shuhua noticed she had a white wand in her right hand. She had never seen a wand made of that type of wood.  
“ _Don’t force me to tie you up. We don’t have much time before someone notices you’re missing and I really, really hate to waste my time._ ”  
She frowned, confused by the statement. Did the woman plan to return her before anyone noticed? That didn’t make any sense to Shuhua, she thought she had just been kidnapped. Well, she _had_ , actually, but that was the strangest kidnapping she had ever seen.

“ _Who are you?_ ” She thought that was a good start to try and understand more about the whole situation.  
“ _A friend._ ”  
Well, that was fucking useless.  
“ _Oh right, people always kidnap their friends. Such a bonding experience._ ”  
She knew she should’ve kept the sarcasm for herself, but with her wand being in their hands, words were the only thing she had left. The woman seemed to find it funny, because she smiled at her.  
“ _At least you got your sense of humor from your mother._ ”

She didn’t know what to say about it. She remembered her mom being funny, but never sarcastic like that. Maybe she didn’t know her as well as she thought.  
“ _Sit down, please, we have a lot of things to discuss._ ”  
Shuhua didn’t know why, but something about how the woman behaved told her that she actually was a friend. Or not a friend, but someone who meant no harm for her, so she did as she asked, taking a sit on the single wooden chair in the room.   
“ _If you took me because of the prophecy –_ ”  
“ _I don’t care about the prophecy. Prophecies are always confusing, imprecise and they are a waste of time. What was predicted could happen in years, when you’re a old, wrinkly witch, and it will happen in a way we can’t even imagine. They always do._ ” She paused. Shuhua wanted to point out she was unnecessarily dramatic, but she had the feeling she needed to let her finish.  
“ _What I care about is that people fear you for it. The Chinese Minister wants to use you at his advantage. He believes you can help him put one of his men here. He knows that whoever controls the British Ministry –_ ”  
She didn’t need to say it. Especially after the Second Wizarding War ended, Britain became the center of the whole Wizarding World they knew. Of course there were a lot of independent communities scattered around the globe, but everyone else looked up to the United Kingdom. 

“ _This is nonsense. I can’t do any of that stuff, I can barely cast an Expelliarmus._ ”  
The woman had a sympathetic smile on her face, Shuhua hated it. She didn’t need sympathy, she needed to be left alone and to finish her school years in peace.  
“ _I know, but I’m afraid I have to ask you something you won’t like. You see, it will soon come the time when you will be asked to grab the prophecy. It will be very important that you say yes. Without your collaboration in this, I won’t be able to finish my job. If you do this for us, we will get rid of everything that’s wrong with our system, can you understand? Help me and I will make sure what happened to your mother won’t happen to anyone else._ ”  
Shuhua frowned, but she didn’t find the courage to move from her chair, not even when the woman got so close she could actually smell her perfume. It was delicate and pleasant, it kind of reminded the girl of home.  
“ _How do you know about her?_ ”  
“ _I told you, I’m a friend. So can I trust you?_ ”  
Looking at her eyes, Shuhua could almost see it. She couldn’t be lying, something told her, she really was a friend, even though it was still unclear _whose_ friend. The soon-to-be seventeen years old nodded.  
“ _What’s your name?_ ”  
“ _Let’s say you can call me Irene._ ”  
It clearly wasn’t her real name, but for Shuhua was enough. 

She let Irene explain the details and she was quickly given another task to work on during the waiting time. She didn’t like it that much, because she knew it could explode in her face at any moment, but she felt like she had no other choice.  
The worst part of it all was that she couldn’t talk about it with her friends. They wouldn’t understand or worse, they would try to talk her out of the situation, saying nothing of what Irene had told her could possibly be the truth.   
It was hard to believe, but the woman had done an impeccable job at collecting proof. She didn’t need much more to fix everything, she said, she just needed a free ticket for the Department of Mysteries. Shuhua was going to be her free ticket, they just didn’t know when.

What it felt like hours was just less than twenty minutes. That’s how it took for the man to bring Shuhua back where he had taken her from. This time she was ready for the apparition, but it didn’t make it any better. She still got nauseous, she still had to put a hand over her stomach and deeply breath to keep herself from throwing up again.  
As soon as she got home and she felt her father’s warm embrace, the guilt started catching up on her. She would’ve been lying to everyone for a very long time, but she couldn’t do otherwise. No one, except for Irene, had offered her a real solution, and that’s why she had to take it, even if it didn’t feel right.

_______________________________

Miyeon looked at her own reflection in the mirror of her room. She usually didn’t hate it, but right now it was hard just to keep her gaze on herself.   
Once the makeup was no longer covering her face, she could see how much the past week affected her general being. She had big, dark circles under her eyes and the skin on her forehead was wrinkled in an unnaturally concerned expression. She looked miserable.   
She cried more than she cared to admit, especially given the fact that Minnie wouldn’t look at her for the whole night. Her eyes were red and puffy and the more she looked at them, the more she wanted to start crying again, so she got away from the mirror. 

She was ready to go to sleep, or at least try to, when she heard a popping noise behind her back, followed by the louder noise of someone crashing against a desk. Miyeon immediately turn around, but she didn’t need to do that to recognize the laugh that came right after.  
It was Minnie’s high laugh.   
“Minnie!” She had to whisper, because everyone else was sleeping, but she actually wanted to scream. She noticed something was wrong as soon as their eyes met, because Minnie was blinking at an extremely fast pace and her legs couldn’t hold her weight, at a point her body was relying on the desk not to fall.  
A dark stain was rapidly expanding on the Ravenclaw’s stain and soon enough the smell of iron filled the room. Miyeon quickly put Minnie’s arm around her neck, so that she could transport her to her bed. Right then it didn’t matter the sheets were going to absorb a lot of Minnie’s blood.  
“What the fuck were you thinking?” She asked, starting to feel the anger growing inside of her. She grabbed her wand from the side table and, after she lowered her pants as quick as possible, she used an Evanesco to clean the girl’s leg.   
A large piece of skin was missing and Miyeon had to catch her breath to avoid throwing up. She pulled a box from under her bed, looking for a little bottle she kept there for emergencies. Of course, she never thought the emergency in question could be Minnie bleeding out on her bed.

The worst part was that Minnie was chuckling, like that was funny or something like that. At least she didn’t feel the pain as she would’ve if she was lucid, but it annoyed the Hufflepuff even more.  
“Using apparition after smoking, for Merlin’s sake –” She knew she was mumbling to herself, because Minnie would have never taken her seriously, not when she was in that state. She wasn’t as high as Yuqi was a few hours back, but she still thought everything happening was the funniest thing she’d ever seen.  
“You’re cute when you worry.” That was Minnie’s clever response, but her voice was alarmingly low and her eyes barely stayed open.  
“Ha – no, no, no. Keep talking, okay?” She finally grabbed the Essence of Dittany out of the box.   
“I need to tell you something.”  
Miyeon wasn’t paying attention, to focused uncapping the small recipient. “What?” She distractedly asked. She wasn’t planning on warning the girl about the pain that was about to come, she figured it would have been better that way. She was wrong.  
“I figured something out. I was – _ohw!_ ” The girl loudly complained, so Miyeon had to stop for a moment to listen if someone had been woken up.  
“Shut up.” Since the wound was already starting to close on itself, she had less to worry about, which meant she could finally think about all the thing that got her mad. She poured two more drops of Dittany, causing Minnie to grunt, then she put the bottle back inside the box.

She didn’t get off the floor. She stayed on her knees next to the bed, while Minnie’s skin turned back to her original color, or a bit paler, but at least it wasn’t that nasty shade of green-ish anymore.   
“What’s your problem, Minnie? You could’ve had a way worse splinching. What if I didn’t have the Dittany? You could’ve died.”  
“It’s okay.”   
It wasn’t okay, it was the total opposite of okay. If she wasn’t already injured, she would’ve hit her – with her fist or with a spell, she didn’t know.   
“Listen to me, okay?”  
Miyeon didn’t want to listen to her, but as soon as she felt Minnie’s palm on her cheek, she knew there was nothing she could do, she _was_ going to listen. She hated how easily she gave in to her touch.  
“I had to smoke or I wouldn’t have found the courage to come.” Her voice was still low and her eyes were still fighting against the urge to close, but that, Miyeon thought, somehow made her words truthful.   
“You could’ve waited till tomorrow.”  
Minnie slightly shook her head.  
“No, I have to tell you now. Look –” She tried to turn to the side, but Miyeon saw the pain going past her face, so she placed a hand on her chest to get her to stay still. “I fucked up. I fucked everything up and I’m so sorry, I’m such an idiot. But I realized I – I wanted to kiss you so bad at midnight. I know what I said last week, but that wasn’t true. I love you too, I love you so much.”  
Minnie’s thumb went over her lower lip and she tried to ignore the shiver that went down her spine, but it was impossible. She loved Minnie. She was her best friend, the one person that understood her better than anyone else, the one that could make her smile even on her worst day. She truly loved Minnie and she thought she wouldn’t be able to love anyone else the way she loved her, but she couldn’t take it.   
“Stop.” She firmly said, ignoring the confusion on the girl’s face. “You can’t do this.”  
She got up, escaping from Minnie’s touch. She felt like she could still feel her hand on her face. It burned.  
“This isn’t a game, Minnie. And I’m not your toy!”  
“What are you talking about? How can you think I –”  
“How?” She had to take ten more seconds to calm down, because her voice was becoming dangerously loud, and she didn’t want her family to hear them fight. “It’s been months! I always wanted more, I couldn’t make it more obvious, but when I got jealous it made you upset. When I tried to talk about it, you ran away. I told you I love you and you broke my heart.” She noticed Minnie’s look deflecting. She knew she didn’t want to hurt her, she knew the Ravenclaw cared for her like no one else did. “And after a week you decide to take it all back? So what? Am I supposed to pretend it never happened? What if you change your mind again in a week?”  
“I won’t.” She sounded certain about it, but so she did on Christmas.  
“I can’t possibly know that.”  
“But –”  
“I’m sorry, but I don’t trust you. Not with this.”

Neither of them dared to speak for some time, Miyeon knew why. It never happened in all those years that they couldn’t trust each other. Whatever happened, no matter how bad was the fight they had, trust was something that never got broken up until that point.   
“Miyeon.”  
When she looked up, Minnie was sitting on the bed, trying to get up. Her face turned even paler, but she didn’t give up. With a frown on her face, the Hufflepuff quickly got to the bed, taking a seat next to her.  
“You need to rest.” The wound was fully closed by then, but her leg was still red were it ripped apart and Minnie had lost too much blood to be standing up. “Stay, I’ll tell Mac.”  
She didn’t have the strength to say no.

When Miyeon returned to her room, Minnie was asleep. She looked peaceful with her chest going up and down, her hair back to its natural color. Her skin was getting tanner, so Miyeon could let out a sigh of relief, getting closer to the bed.  
She grabbed a new set of sheets and then attempted to take the stained one from under Minnie’s body. The Ravenclaw turned to the side and whined for a second, but she didn’t fully wake up. Miyeon threw the sheets on the floor, putting the clean one on top of Minnie.  
Only after cleaning the floor with the same spell she used to clean the girl’s leg, she slid under the blanket with her. She placed an arm around her waist, hugging her from behind, and she hid her face against Minnie’s hair.   
She couldn’t smell anything but blood, yet having the girl between her arms made her feel safer somehow.

She woke up many hours later, when the sun was so high in the sky not even the curtains could keep the light out.   
Minnie was still under her arm, but they were now facing each other. Miyeon’s heart skip a beat as soon as their eyes met, and when the other girl leaned to place a kiss on her neck, she almost gave in.   
“Minnie.” She whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder to push her away. “I meant what I said yesterday.”   
“Me too.”   
She usually liked face to face conversations with her best friend, but in that moment looking at Minnie’s eyes was too painful and she couldn’t handle it for more than a few minutes. She had to turn on her back, figuring that staring at the ceiling was easier.  
“Don’t.”  
Minnie sighed.  
“I’m not giving up. I’ll fix it. I’ll keep trying until you trust me again.”  
She turned her head, meeting the girl’s eyes once again. She had never seen her that determined. She didn’t know if she felt more scared or relieved. 

____________________________________

She knew that somehow she would miss this. Being able to watch students run around, panicking not to miss the train. It left at eleven o’clock after all, with no exceptions. Soyeon had everything she needed with her and ten minutes spare.  
“Soyeon?” She was busy saying goodbye to her mother, when Jungkook, her older brother, tried to catch her attention.  
“Hmm?” She asked, but she didn’t even turn around.  
“There’s a girl with pigtails that’s waving at us. Like – a lot. Everyone’s looking at her.”  
When she decided to check for herself, slightly alarmed, she wasn’t surprised to see Yuqi’s arms in the air, a lot of inches away from them. She tried to tell her to cut it from the distance and it looked like it worked at first, but then the girl started walking towards them.  
“Uh –” She quickly hugged her mother, grabbed her suitcase and looked at Jungkook. “That’s Yuqi.”  
“Oh! Your Gryffindor friend?”   
He had always been excited about her, since he was a Gryffindor himself and Soyeon’s group never had one of them until she met the other girl.   
“Yes, she’s coming to pick me up so that we can find a good spot. I’ll go now, bye!”

Before Yuqi got close enough to be introduced to her family, or at least the part of the family that was there since Soyeon’s father was always too busy, the Ravenclaw grabbed the girl by the shoulder and forced her to turn around.  
“Hey!” Yuqi protested, putting on a grunge, then she stopped. Of course, being her stubborn self, she would never do something because she was forced to, even if it meant risking to miss the train.   
“What are you doing? It’s almost eleven.”  
She didn’t answer, which lead Soyeon to sigh.  
“Can we talk about it inside?” The unspoken answer was clearly no.  
“Yuqi.”   
If she thought the Gryffindor would be intimidated by her tone, she was wrong. Yuqi stood her ground, raising her chin with pride, and crossed her arm. She was not going to give up. She was _so_ annoying, Soyeon thought, and sometimes she made her feel like she was babysitting a five years old girl, but still – she wanted to kiss her so bad and every time she felt annoyed because of her, that feeling only grew stronger. She hated it, because she knew she would’ve never been able to hold a grunge for more than five minutes, unlike her girlfriend.  
“You’re ashamed of me.” Yuqi said after almost a minute. Soyeon’s eyes widened, but she couldn’t come up with an answer quickly enough, so the younger grunted, finally deciding to move. Without her. She jumped on the train to Soyeon’s relief, forcing the shorter girl to go after her, the suitcase moving on its own right behind her.

Once she caught up, which was more difficult than expected since she had shorter legs, she grabbed Yuqi by the shoulder _again_ , shoving her into the first empty compartment she could find. Yuqi let her and, given the fact that she was definitely stronger than her due to hours of training every week, Soyeon figured she was not as mad as she could.  
The Ravenclaw closed not only the door, but also the little curtain on it, then she closed the window’s curtain as well.   
“Wha –”  
She didn’t let her finish, crashing lips onto hers, while she put her hand on Yuqi’s neck. Just for once, she wanted to put the fight on hold, she didn’t want to think about how much the idea of telling her family about her personal life frightened her. For some reason it always did and it got to a point where she didn’t share much, but they were all fine with it.   
Knowing Yuqi, she should’ve known her plan couldn’t work. The girl never postponed talking, she always felt the need to share her thought and her feeling right as she was feeling them. For an introvert like her it was overwhelming to say the least, but it also was one of the aspects she appreciated the most about her girlfriend. 

“I was serious.” Yuqi pulled away, her big eyes locked on Soyeon’s.   
“I’m not ashamed.” She tried to get closer again, helped by the fact that there was only so much space in the train’s little room. “I just need a bit of time, please.” Postponing the inevitable was one of her biggest flaws, she was aware of it. It was also perfectly aligned with Ravenclaw’s traits, so she thought she couldn’t do much about it. It was easy, blaming it in something she couldn’t control.  
“They don’t even know I like girls yet.”  
Yuqi bit her own lower lip and after pondering for a few seconds, she started nodding.   
“I can be there when you tell them, you don’t have to do it alone.”  
Soyeon smiled, cupping the girl’s face with her hands. It didn’t matter in that moment, because she would’ve been apart from her family for the whole semester. That was something they could think about way later.  
“Okay.”  
“You look hot with this new haircut, by the way.”  
Soyeon burst into a laugh, but as soon as Yuqi tried to catch her lips again, she put a hand on her chest to push her away, making her sit on the couch. She then sat on the other side, shaking her head mostly to make her new, short dark hair move around.   
“Too late.”  
“Ah, seriously…” She heard the Gryffindor mumble, while she waved her wand to open the door again.

_________________________________

The bathroom stall in the train was extremely tight, which was kind of hilarious considering Soojin had seen tents as big as her house on the inside.   
The small space worked in her favor that time, because it forced her and Hui to be close together. Not that the boy needed that kind of excuse; he had gotten bolder after New Years, but she could see why. Having seen her naked and knowing he was her first time boosted his confidence to the roof, so much that he wasn’t scared of getting caught by the teachers.

She, on the other hand, couldn’t get rid of the shyness even in a context like that. When his lips got to her neck and began to leave a mark on her skin, she bit her own lips not to let out a sigh. If someone had noticed them, she didn’t think she would’ve been able to look any student in the face anymore.  
She liked the feeling of his scent mixed to hers, and how steady his hands were on her legs. They stayed on the edge of her skirt, without trying to get under it. He knew she would never do it on the Hogwarts Express and he didn’t try to change her mind.  
“Hui.” She whispered, gently pushing him away with both her hands. When she met his eyes, he looked content, even though he didn’t let him finish.   
“Sorry.” He said, laying his back against the wall. He watched her while she checked herself in the mirror. What she thought it would be just a redder spot turned out to be more of a shade of purple, which made her widen her eyes.   
“Oh, are you serious?”  
She didn’t want people to look at her and just know she had been doing – that. She never got why everyone liked hickeys anyway, what was the point of marking someone? They weren’t wolves, they didn’t need to assert dominance, yet she caught his satisfied look through the mirror reflection.

“Sorry.” He said again. “I didn’t think it got this dark already.”  
Soojin grunted, opening the sink to put cold water over the spot. It helped a little, but not enough to make it go away.   
“It’s fine.” It wasn’t, but all that was left was hoping no one would notice. “I have to go. Minnie and Miyeon have a meeting in an hour and I don’t want Shuhua to be Soyeon and Yuqi’s third wheel.”  
He lifted his eyebrows, but kept smiling at her.   
“I’m sure she’s going to tell them to fuck off if they get too clingy.”  
His tone was amused, like he found Shuhua’s forwardness funny, but it had something else to it, something Soojin couldn’t actually describe in that moment.   
“Yeah, then Yuqi would respond and they’d start fighting and Soyeon would be the third wheel. It’s better if I stay there with them.”  
She closed the distance once again, putting her lips onto his in a soft kiss.   
“See you later?”  
He smiled, stealing another kiss from her.  
“Sure.”

When she got back to their compartment, it was louder than usual. And the usual was _loud_.   
Opening the door, Soojin frowned. The two couches were submerged by sweets of all types, Minnie was screaming, trying to keep her hand – or the chocolates in her hand – away from Yuqi. Soyeon looked at them with a smile on her face. Miyeon was on the other side, trying to kiss Shuhua’s cheek, but she gradually got away. The weirdest thing was that the younger had a pumpkin pie in her hands, with a single candle on top.  
“What are you doing?” She asked, grabbing everyone’s attention.  
“Damn, that was a long bathroom break.” Minnie smiled widely, eyeing her neck, that instantly turned almost as red as the mark the Ravenclaw was watching.  
Soojin scoffed, closing the door behind her. “So? Why are you still here?”  
Miyeon turned to look at Shuhua, which shrugged. It didn’t go past unnoticed and the Slytherin was starting to feel irritated, but then the Hufflepuff spoke.  
“We were going, but then Shuhua told us it’s her birthday today. Like – casually, like it’s not a big deal.”  
“It’s not.” Shuhua protested.

“What?” Soojin raised her eyebrows, looking straight into the younger’s eyes. Or that’s what she hoped, so she was disappointed in knowing she was avoiding her gaze once again. She knew things were going to be weird after the party, but she didn’t understand why the girl was so deflecting. She started it. Besides, Hui was her boyfriend, she didn’t have to give an explanation for going home with him.  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She heard Yuqi cough. “Us. Why didn’t you tell us?”  
“Because it’s not that important.”  
“You turn seventeen and it’s not important? That’s the most important thing for a witch!” Minnie said, but she got distracted again when Yuqi stole the chocolate straight from her hand.   
“Yes, think about all the things you can do now that you’re not underage anymore.” Soyeon swoop in, but while she started to list everything she had in mind, that’s when it got to Soojin. Shuhua was not underage anymore, which meant her Trace was gone, which meant if something happened to her –   
She felt her heart ache at the idea of not being able to help her if someone got to her. When their gazes finally met, none of them was listening to Soyeon anymore. Shuhua saw that Soojin understood, there was no need to say it out loud.

“Guys, let her be.” She said, with her usual soft tone, but then she hit Miyeon’s leg to get her to move to the side so she could sit next to Shuhua. She missed the look the other four exchanged.  
“You should still blow out the candle and make a wish. If you want.”  
The younger nodded after a few seconds of silence, so Soojin turned the candle on, waiting for her to blow it.   
“Wait! We should take a picture.”   
Minnie was already looking for the camera inside her bag, ignoring Yuqi’s complaint, but in the end they all got close to Shuhua, while the Ravenclaw held the camera high to take the picture. She took a few, because working with a camera she couldn’t see how the photos were turning out.   
They ended up taking six polaroids, agreeing with giving the best one to the birthday girl, then they would randomly take one each. Soojin held Shuhua the tightest for all six of them, and Shuhua chose the one where the older Slytherin was looking at her instead of looking at the camera.   
That must’ve been a coincidence, she surely liked how she turned out in that picture, with her lips moving up in forming a shy smile. Soojin though she was cute.   
She also thought she wouldn’t let the girl out of her sight, except for when Yuqi was with her during classes. Leaving her alone was not an option.


	13. of patronuses and connections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so... what a week, right? i had a hard time doing anything tbh, but i was finally able to finish this chapter  
> it's a bit of a slow one, but enjoy it because things are about to go down  
> hope you're taking care :)
> 
> if you want to reach out, you can find me on twitter at @maunobanx

January was already coming to an end, it was unusual for it to feel so short, but Soojin could’ve sworn they celebrated Shuhua’s birthday on the train only the day before. Perhaps it was because she had the busiest January of her life, dividing between homework, Hui and most importantly Shuhua.  
She refused to leave her alone if not for the night and sometime she even considered asking her to sleep together.   
Spending all that time with the girl, she noticed details she couldn’t see before. The main thing was that Shuhua was extremely cute when she was eating and that was the reason a pile of her pictures was stacking up on Soojin’s side table.   
She also found out was okay with opening up when they were the only two people in the room, so she told her that her mother was actually Taiwanese, but she moved to China as soon as she turned eighteen, she told her that her father wasn’t so absent when she was a child and that his wife’s death had deeply changed him. Shuhua knew he buried himself under tons of work just so he didn’t have to think. She didn’t blame him. Soojin felt an aching sadness that day and when she hugged her, she couldn’t understand which heart was beating so fast, if hers or Shuhua’s.   
She discovered a lot of aspects that the girl didn’t usually show, like the way her confidence dropped when Soojin flirted back.   
They did that from time to time, but she knew there was nothing to it, since it was just a joke. Shuhua did it to make her uncomfortable, Soojin did it to get back at her. They’d smile and get back to their books right after, without mentioning it again.   
She still caught her staring every now and then, but it didn’t bother her anymore. If she had to be honest, it was the other way around that bothered her, when Shuhua would have that lost look in her face and her eyebrows would frown. Those were the times when she would avoid Soojin’s gaze for the rest of the evening, but the older never understood what went through her mind.

It was rare for her to have a free afternoon, but the day came at the end of the month. Shuhua, like McGonagall had suggested, had her first encounter with professor Trelawney to try and find out if she actually had some sort of divinatory magic in her.   
Soojin thought it was the stupidest idea the principal could’ve come out with, since the Divination teacher was not sane, and she definitely didn’t have the famous Third Eye according to everyone that attended her lessons. She didn’t, even on her third year she knew those classes were useless, so she chose Ancient Runes instead.  
She had no choice in that matter anyway and when she told Shuhua she would’ve waited for her outside, the girl told her she wanted to spend some time with Yuqi on the Quidditch field, to train for the upcoming match. 

As for Hui, he was mad at her. He didn’t say it out loud, but he made up excuses not to see her the few times she was free. She couldn’t say she didn’t understand, but it still bothered her that he wouldn’t talk about the issue, but again she herself wasn’t the best at directly facing problems, so there wasn’t much she could blame him for.  
She missed him, but her pride got in the way of apologizing. She explained she needed to take care of her friend multiple times, but he didn’t put effort in understanding where she stood. That was the reason why she didn’t look for him that day.

Instead she and Miyeon sat in the Great Hall with a lot of tomes scattered on the table. Luckily they were forced to sit at their house’s table only during lunchtime and dinnertime, so the Slytherin chose it as a perfect spot for studying. They didn’t have to keep it quiet like they should’ve in the library, where she knew Hui would’ve been, so those were already two good reasons. Not to mention she also was aware that Yuqi and Shuhua often studied in the Great Hall because they were far too loud, especially when they were together. Not that Soojin would’ve admitted it, not even to herself.

“Have you tried casting a Patronus again?”  
The question came out of nowhere, so Soojin lifted her head from her paper. She forgot all about the Patronus class, since the first attempt had been such a disaster.   
She shook her head and she was about to go back to writing, but after all those years she could read her friend like an open book. She knew she wanted to talk about something, so she raised an eyebrow, silently asking her what the matter was.  
“I did. Yesterday.” She didn’t wait for Soojin to ask her to continue. “And I made it.”  
Weirdly enough, she didn’t look too happy, nor excited. She looked worried, out of all feeling she could’ve expressed.  
“And that’s a problem because…?”  
Suddenly the Hufflepuff blushed, avoiding Soojin’s gaze. It didn’t take her long to guess it had something to do with Minnie, but she couldn’t share the same concern as hers. They were absolutely ridiculous, those two, they kept looking at each other across the room since they came back from the Christmas break, but apparently they never talked unless all six of them hanged out. 

Soojin put the quill in its place, certain the conversation wouldn’t have died in a few seconds. She stared at her friend for some time, but she didn’t look like she had any intention to return her gaze.  
“What was the memory you used?”  
She knew she would regret it.  
“Uh – it was…” She blushed again, harder than the first time. Soojin sighed, getting ready for what was to come, but Miyeon didn’t say anything else. Of course the Slytherin got the essential out of it and, even though she showed her a disgusted expression, she was smiling on the inside.   
“You two are so gross.” She mumbled, watching Miyeon panic right after.  
“No, it’s not that! I mean – it’s not the thing itself.” She couldn’t even say the word _sex_ , but she still chose it as her happiest memory. “It’s the feeling that comes with it, you know?”  
Soojin felt her heart drop. She was not sure she knew actually. She liked intimate moments with Hui, but if she had to pick a memory to cast the Patronus, those moments with him wouldn’t come to her mind. Miyeon must’ve noticed the shift in her mood, because she stopped to look at her for a moment.  
“You feel that with Hui, right?” She lowered her voice, just in case since they were in a public space. “Like – the connection when you look at him.”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, focusing on anything that wasn’t Miyeon’s face. She didn’t like the turn that conversation had taken.  
“It’s not the same for everyone.” She tried to say, and it actually gave her the confidence to state her point. Of course it wasn’t the same for her and Hui, they needed time to get to that point. “You and Minnie grew up together, you’re like connected since you were born basically. I don’t have that with Hui yet.”

The Hufflepuff didn’t seem completely convinced yet, so Soojin rolled her eyes in annoyance.  
“Look, it takes time to be so disgustingly in love like you are.”  
It worked, since Miyeon widened her eyes, starting to panic again.  
“What? I’m not –”  
She met her gaze and that was enough to make her stop. Even if Soojin didn’t know her, she could’ve seen how crazy the two girls were about each other.  
“You should talk to her.”  
“I don’t want to.”  
It didn’t make any sense to her. Miyeon was miserable, Minnie was miserable, they had the solution right in front of their eyes, but they refused to take a step further.  
“Why not?”  
“Because she sees me just as someone to have fun with.”  
Before she could stop herself, Soojin rolled her eyes again.  
“Do you hear yourself? It’s Minnie we’re talking about. I get diabetes every time she looks at you.”  
Miyeon clenched her jaw, shaking her head right after. She had a feeling she wouldn’t be convinced that day, so she dropped it off.  
“I can’t trust her right now.”

They went back at their homework without adding anything else, but Soojin lifted her eyes from time to time. They never met Miyeon’s. She wanted to help her, but she was also scared of bringing the topic back, since it placed a strange feeling at the center of her chest.   
She wondered if she was supposed to feel those things for Hui from the start, even Soyeon looked on cloud nine since she and Yuqi became an official thing. She told herself that was another different thing. They danced around each other for months, almost a year actually, so it made sense that their feelings were already well consolidated.   
With her and Hui everything was new and she wanted to take it slow. She was happy to spend time with him, he made her smile, his lips sent her some shivers across her skin, and that was exactly what she was supposed to feel after a month or two.

“What was it?” She asked Miyeon, after she finished her Ancient Runes paper.  
“Uh?” She finally looked up, confused.  
“Your Patronus. What was its form?”  
“Oh!” The Hufflepuff’s eyes lit up, followed by a wide smile on her lips. “A crocodile. It was so cute.”  
Soojin let out a chuckle, shaking her head. 

_________________________________

The Divination classroom was weird. First of all, who would think a trapdoor would be a great way to access a class? No one right in their mind. Second, the room itself was a complete mess. There were more round tables that she could count, a lot of random objects scattered around the room, on every surface, even on the floor.   
She didn’t even want to start about the teacher. She was the strangest person she’d ever seen, to a point she was sort of scary. Her round, thick glasses made her look like she lost her mind a long time ago. In all honesty Shuhua was sure the witch had just as much Divination magic as she did: none.

She spent the whole hour looking at every detail in the room, she even proposed she could make the tea in the teacher’s place so that she could have an excuse to get up from her sit. Professor Trelawney took it as good initiative, so she let her.   
“My dear, the art of reading tea leaves is not for everyone. It could take years to learn.”

She thought that saying she didn’t want to learn that nonsense would’ve been too rude, so she kept her mouth shut even after finishing her tea.   
All that was left in the cup was a dark stain that didn’t resemble absolutely nothing. The teacher still looked at her with great expectation, her big, creepy eyes pierced on her face, and Shuhua she had to at least take a wild guess.  
“This looks like an angel.” She was uncertain, but she felt like those could be passed as wings. There was something else to the side, but to Shuhua they were just meaningless lines, so she didn’t mention it. Once the woman took the cup and looked into it, her forehead wrinkled in a frown.  
“Interesting.” That was all she said, before putting the cup on the table. “Oh, it’s six already. Time flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it?”  
She turned around to look at the clock on the wall. Or, to be precise, she turned around so that she didn’t have to answer her question, since she was not having fun at all. It was just a waste of time, she wasn’t like her mother.  
“I will get going then. Thank you, professor Trelawney.” She bowed her head to her, but the teacher gave the girl her back, already paying attention to something Shuhua couldn’t see. She heard the sound of turning pages, but she wasn’t invested enough to ask what the book was about. She said goodbye one more time, then she left.

Under the stairs was Yuqi with an amused smile on her face.  
“So you finally met old Trelawney, uh?”  
“Shut up! How do you cope with all this?”  
The Gryffindor shrugged, putting an arm around her neck just to annoy her. Shuhua tried to get away, but she had to admit Yuqi’s grip was way stronger than someone would expect, so she gave up.  
“Divination is the easiest Excellent of my life. I just have to predict someone’s death once a week and I’m on board. You’re all dumb for choosing Ancient Runes, that’s hard.”  
“It’s useful.”  
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not planning on using a dead language anytime soon. If old, sad ghosts want to talk to us, they better learn our language.”  
Shuhua grunted, hitting her friend with her elbow on the exposed side. If she knew Yuqi, she would’ve exaggerated the whole thing, claiming that she broke a rib or something, and she would’ve let her go. Which she did.  
She started whining, so Shuhua took the chance to step aside.

“I tried inventing some stuff, she didn’t look impressed.”  
They started walking down the stairs, while Yuqi kept massaging her side, causing Shuhua to roll her eyes. She was so dramatic it was almost unbelievable.   
“Like what?”  
“I said I saw an angel in the tea leaves.”  
The Gryffindor frowned, like she was focusing to remember something, but it was clear as day she never properly studied Divination, so she stopped in the middle of the stairs, attracting some questioning looks from the students that were going up.  
Shuhua stopped right after, watching her friend as she took a book out of her bag. She then started to turning page after page, making the Slytherin impatient. Once she found what she was looking for, she chuckled by herself.  
“Ah, that’s the problem. She doesn’t like good predictions, she only wants to hear about severe injuries or worse.”  
She turned the book so that Shuhua could read.  
 _The angel symbolizes good news, especially good fortune in love._

How ironic, wasn’t it? Seeing the thing she knew it couldn’t be real. It didn’t matter how hard she tried, how many people wanted to hang out with the seeker, Shuhua couldn’t get _her_ out of her mind.   
She knew she had to let her go and focus on something else, but every time she looked at Soojin in the eyes she just felt that sparkle inside of her stomach that told her maybe she wasn’t delusional, because the older girl seemed to look at her the same way, and they spent so much time together lately that Shuhua didn’t know what to think anymore.  
Of course there was the whole boyfriend situation, but she was sure she wasn’t making all the signals up. 

She still scoffed, beginning to go down the stairs again.  
“Don’t you have a girlfriend? Why are you bothering me?”  
Yuqi quickly followed her, after shoving the book back inside her bag.   
“She’s studying with Minnie because Miyeon is still kind of ignoring her.”

Shuhua rolled her eyes, but she had to admit it was refreshing talking to the Gryffindor. In the last few weeks they never found themselves alone and, as long as she liked Soojin’s attentions, they made her feel like some sort of liability, because deep down she knew why the other Slytherin kept looking for her.  
“You must be hating Minnie, keeping you from doing stuff for a day.”  
She was clearly sarcastic, but Yuqi’s response was not what she expected at all; instead of cursing at her or hitting her, the girl let out a brief laugh.  
“For a day? I wish.”  
She raised her eyebrows, side-eyeing her for a quick second, but she didn’t want to stop in the middle of the stairs again, so she returned to look in front of her right after.  
“She doesn’t want to do it.” Yuqi mumbled, sounding absolutely ridiculous.   
“What are you talking about?”  
“I tried, but she –” She had to wait for a group of students to walk past them, she didn’t want the rumor to spread. “I don’t know why, she always stops me. Is it because I’m too cute? I don’t want to be cute anymore if that’s the problem.”  
Shuhua had to bite her cheek to stop herself from laughing at her friend, but she managed eventually.  
“I don’t think that’s it.”  
“Then what?”  
She wasn’t the right person to give her love advice, but she still sighed, trying to think of what could be holding Soyeon back.  
“You’re her first girlfriend, right?”  
“No. I mean, yes, but no.”  
She turned to give her a death glare. Why did she feel the need to be that cryptic?  
“I mean, she went out with a girl last year, but she told me they were nothing official. I bet they did stuff.”  
“You _bet_? Can’t you just ask her?”  
“Ask her what? _Hey Soyeon, remember that girl you used to date while I was already dying for you? Did you have sex with her?_ Come on.”  
They were getting close to the bottom of the stairs and, since she didn’t want to talk about it next to the large group of students gathered in front of the castle entrance, she stopped.  
“You’re such a sap.”  
Yuqi frowned, then a grunge started to form on her lips.  
“Like you’re not dying for Soojin everyday.” Shuhua looked around, just to make sure no one was close enough to hear her. “Everyone already knows, Shu. You drool every time you look at her.”  
The Slytherin pouted. It wouldn’t have been a problem letting people know she had crush, if the girl in question wasn’t dating someone else. She knew she just looked stupid, chasing after that person that saw her just as a kid she had to look after. 

She felt Yuqi’s fist hitting her shoulder playfully and, when she looked up from the ground, she met her smile. It was warm, one of those smiles that could light up a room, and her eyes were somehow reassuring.  
“You should stop worrying about pretty girls and start worrying about when I’ll make you cry in the field.”  
Yuqi’s statement got the expected reaction out of Shuhua, that let out a loud laugh.   
“You’re daydreaming again, you know it’s not healthy for you.”  
They decided to mention the match only when it was necessary, just because they were both so competitive that they risked fighting and the relationships in their group were already weird as it was. Apparently yuqi thought that it was necessary right then and Shuhua actually felt grateful her friend made her laugh.  
“We’ll see. I think I will make you cry even today, you’ll regret asking to train together.”  
Sometimes she wondered if Yuqi’s confidence was real, but looking at the sparkle in her eyes, she knew it was. It made her happy, especially knowing how much the girl beat herself up after her first match.

The bickering would’ve gone even further, but Shuhua’s shoulder got hit by someone passing by, so her attention was brought to the girl. She was about to tell her to watch out, but meeting Soojin’s eyes she froze.  
“Hey.”  
The older nervously smiled, placing a hand on Shuhua’s arm.  
“Hey. I’m in a hurry, but see you later?”  
Shuhua, confused, just nodded her head a couple of times, before watching the girl disappear just like she almost appeared out of nowhere.  
“Jin –” She heard Yuqi say, but it was too late, she was already long gone. When she turned her head to check what the matter with the Gryffindor was, she saw Yuqi holding a small piece of paper.  
“She dropped this.”   
She quickly looked, but she got what she needed to get. The handwriting was messy, but the words were as clear as the day.

_We need to talk, meet me in front of the common room._

She felt a wave of guilt, but it was nothing compared to the hope. Those words always implied the same thing, everyone knew it. Even though she shouldn’t have, she caught herself smiling, and she didn’t even pay attention to Yuqi’s worried look when they resumed their walk towards the Quidditch field.

__________________________________

They needed to talk, or at least that what Hui said. And they talked at first, but the conversation left place to something else a few minutes after they got to the empty classroom in the dungeons.  
She knew it wasn’t the healthiest way to make up, but she told herself she would’ve been better to him, especially since it took the boy less than ten minutes to forgive her. He complained about the lack of time she was giving him, she apologized, they kissed.

They were still kissing, but the sweet pecks left space to an hungry kiss with their tongues dancing around each other. Hui’s hands slipped under Soojin’s shirt and she felt chills whenever he touched her skin.   
As soon as he left her mouth to leave a trail of kisses on her neck, she took the chance to ask him what she had in mind all day.  
“It’s almost Valentine’s Day.”  
She wasn’t a fan of it if she had to be honest, but she was starting to know Hui as the most romantic between the two, so she figured he would’ve liked it. He happily hummed, but he didn’t stop kissing her neck.   
“We could do something in Hogsmeade, as long as it’s not Madam Puddifoot’s.”  
She felt his smile on her skin and smiled as a response.  
“Deal.” He then said, before raising his head to look at her in the eyes. She hated thinking about it in that moment, but she still couldn’t feel it. The connection Miyeon was talking about. She thought Hui was handsome, she liked the way she made her feel, but it was nothing like her friend described.  
It didn’t matter, because a moment after he was kissing her again, bringing his hands up to her clasp. As soon as he undid it, they heard a noise coming from the entrance of the classroom.   
They pulled away, Soojin more annoyed than he was, but in the moment her eyes laid on the figure that was standing next to the door with her face as red as Gryffindor’s tie and a hand that was massaging the opposite shoulder (she must’ve hit it on her way out), the Slytherin widened her eyes, pushing Hui away.   
“Sorry.” Shuhua said, avoiding to make eye contact with her.  
Soojin didn’t know what to say, she just put her shirt in place, ignoring the unclasped bra that felt extremely heavy and uncomfortable.   
“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Soojin couldn’t possibly know that was exactly what she meant, after all.  
When she watched the girl disappear out of the room, she felt her heart stop for a second, before it started pumping blood fasted than usual. Her gaze met Hui’s, knowing he wouldn’t have looked too much into it and he would’ve gladly gone back at what they were doing, but she didn’t want to anymore.  
She tried to smile at him, but she wasn’t sure that was what her lips did. Either way, she did not have the time to fix it. 

She found herself walking fast down the corridor, almost running to catch up to the girl, who was way more athletic than Soojin was.  
“Hey.” She was out of breath, but eventually she got to grab Shuhua’s wrist to stop her endless wondering. The only problem was that, when the younger turned to meet her eyes, she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even know why she followed her outside the classroom.   
“How was the Divination lesson?”  
She ignored the way Shuhua’s face dropped, she couldn’t afford to acknowledge the feeling it caused inside her chest.   
“Useless.” Soojin had no doubts about it, but hearing it from Shuhua didn’t feel right. Apparently she hoped someone could help the girl better than she was trying to.  
“And the training with Yuqi?”  
Shuhua looked like she was fighting against the need to tell her something, but in the end she just shrugged. Unlike a few minutes before, she wouldn’t stop staring, and Soojin didn’t want to look away. 

“Look, JinJin…” The younger got away from Soojin’s grip on her wrist, but it was still impossible for their gazes to separate, like two magnets were holding them together. “You don’t need to take care of me every day, I’m not a child.”  
Soojin’s heart dropped for the second time in the span of ten minutes.  
“I promise I’ll be fine, you should go back to your boyfriend.” It came out sharper than she expected, so they both frowned simultaneously. “I know what you’re trying to do, but –”  
“Shu.” She put a hand on her cheek, meeting the coldness of her skin against her own palm. The contrast sent shivers not only from the spot they touched, but also down her spine. Her knees felt suddenly weak, but she clenched her jaw to ignore the feeling.   
It was almost like Shuhua’s eyes went right through hers, because they couldn’t settle for just Soojin’s appearance. It was ten times worse than being seen naked, but she didn’t feel as flustered. It felt like a piece of the puzzle fell right in place.

When she noticed the girl was getting closer, Soojin broke the eye contact, bringing Shuhua inside her arms. The hug felt strange at first, rigid, but they soon relaxed in each other’s embrace.  
She had no idea for how long she stayed still enjoying Shuhua’s heartbeat against hers and that peachy scent all over her, but as she was the one who started it, she was also the one that pulled away.  
“I don’t do it because I think you’re a child.”   
Shuhua’s eyes lit up while a smile took place on her lips. She didn’t know how someone as charming as her – because it was undeniable she had a grip on a lot of students – could be just as cute.  
“I like spending time with you.”   
Trying to read Shuhua’s expression wasn’t always easy. To be honest, it was a difficult task most of the times, but the times she needed to understand her the most, those were the times Shuhua shut her out completely.  
“I know, but I’m not going anywhere. Go back to him.”

Soojin frowned again, feeling a weight on top of her stomach she didn’t seem to be able to get rid of. Their eyes fought a silent battle once more, neither of them dared to look away first, at least until Shuhua opened her mouth again.  
“Go.” Her traits softened, like she didn’t mind Soojin going back to Hui, she even smiled. “I have to meet with Pen anyway.”  
The older froze, which gave her mind the time to process what Shuhua had just said, from the nickname to what the statement implied. After New Years, she had never seen them together anymore, so she assumed they stopped hanging out, but apparently she was wrong.  
“Oh, of course.” She was the first one to break eye contact, finding her own shoes far more interesting than Shuhua’s face right then. “I won’t hold you anymore, sorry.”  
She gave her a quick smile, before turning around. The weight on her chest was almost unbearable, but she took a deep breath and she kept walking away from the girl.

She couldn’t even imagine that, behind her, Shuhua’s eyes were filled with tears.  
The younger Slytherin sniffed just once, even though she could stop pretending she wasn’t feeling like her heart just broke in hundred pieces. She had to keep herself together, because if she let every bad feeling catch up to her, she knew she wouldn’t be able to shut down the guilt. The only reason why she could bare keeping secrets and stacking up lie after lie was that she didn’t let the guilt really get to her and that was how things were supposed to be, at least until the end.   
She watched Soojin’s back all the way, until the girl disappeared behind the corner. She didn’t turn, nor stop, even once. It didn’t matter how much Shuhua thought she saw in her eyes, it wasn’t enough for her to stay.   
She knew she pushed her, but she hoped until the end Soojin wouldn’t go. Only when she was sure the other was gone, she allowed herself to let a few tears run down her face, but she quickly wiped them with her thumbs.   
After a deep sigh, she told herself she couldn’t afford to think about it anymore. She had to try and get good grades, not to mention she had to focus on the match against Gryffindors, while thinking about how she could do what Irene asked her to.   
She had no time to let Seo Soojin crawl under her skin, not even when the older girl spent the majority of the month with her, smiling and laughing and joking with her. Not even when she felt like she was one of the privileged people that knew her for who she really was, without the constructed façade she always put in front of others. None of it mattered, because Seo Soojin would’ve never been hers.


	14. of injustice and craving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi :)   
> i just noticed this got to 5k hits, this is insane, thank you so much for checking it out, i really hope you're still liking it at this point of the story!  
> i have to say this was one of the chapters i had the most fun with, but every chapter from now on will be pretty packed, sooo yeah
> 
> ( tw: liiitle bit of smut at the end )

Quidditch was always a hot topic inside the castle walls, but when Gryffindor and Slytherin had to face each other, the whole school couldn’t talk about anything else. As for the players, at least the three Soojin was close to, they didn’t have a moment of peace, with people wishing them good luck and stopping by just to talk about strategies.   
Hanging out with the whole team, except for Shuhua, was a nightmare for her, but she promised Hui they’d spend more time together, even if it meant having to hear five guys talk about sports for an unacceptable amount of time.  
Soojin had learnt how to isolate herself from her surroundings, so she left her mind wander off while she locked her eyes to the flames in the fireplace in Slytherin common room. She felt Hui’s hand on her leg, but she also heard him talking about some scheme they had prepared for the match, so she didn’t bother turning her head.  
She didn’t understand what went on in his mind sometimes. He didn’t like Quidditch, he had told her himself, but he still acted excited every time a game was close and he was the first one to come up with new strategies to test in the field. She didn’t know how people could pretend to be someone they were not and do it so well that no one would notice.

“I wouldn’t worry too much anyway.” The captain’s words didn’t go by unnoticed this time, even though Soojin registered them just after hearing his whole process of thoughts. “Our Shuhua could eat their seeker for breakfast.”  
 _Our._ Soojin frowned, but she kept looking at the fire. A simple word was not a good excuse to fight with him, even if it sounded like the worst insult coming from his mouth. What held her back was the fact she would’ve had to explain why it bothered her that much to Hui, and she didn’t want to talk about Shuhua another time.

“I don’t know.” One of the beaters, Soojin couldn’t even remember how he was called, added. “That Yuqi girl is pretty good.”  
Avery let out a single, mocking scoff, causing Soojin to finally turn around. Hui’s grip on her leg tightened, but it didn’t help calming her down at all.  
“Sure, she’s alright for a muggleborn, but we all know she can’t reach Shuhua’s level. It’s just nature, you know? She’s got less magic in her blood, it’s obvious she’ll never be a witch as good as others.”

No one dared to say anything after that, she didn’t know if it was because they agreed or because they were scared he’d kick them out of the team if they did. Soojin looked at Hui, who had his lips parted like he wanted to come up with a good answer, but then she got tired of waiting.  
“What did you just say?” Her voice was lower than usual, but her eyes looked like they could se the boy on fire any minute.  
“I’m sorry, I like your friend, but you can’t deny she will always be ten steps behind compared to wizards born in a family of wizards.”  
After the Second Wizarding War, no one really talked about those kind of topic, but Soojin wasn’t that naïve to believe that everyone had stopped having that mentality. Hearing it from one of Hui’s friends still made her feel like the pumping blood would’ve crasher her skull sooner or later, and before she even knew it, she was pointing her wand to Avery’s neck.

Everyone panicked, they looked at each other like they didn’t know what to do, but the captain looked relaxed, sitting on the couch.   
“Say it again then.”   
She never was like that. She never raised her voice at her schoolmates, let alone threatened them with her wand poking their skin like that, but his smirk got under her skin. The fact that someone thought Yuqi, or any other muggleborn, was not a good enough witch just because of the family she was born in made her nauseous, and sad, and angry.  
He pushed her wand away with he same smile, before standing up. She did the same. They never stopped looking at each other and they were now so close he had just to whisper to be heard. Knowing she would be the only one to get what he was going to say, his smile grew wider.  
“Why bother this much for a mudblood anyway?”  
It wasn’t a word wizards used anymore. Soojin’s hands began to hitch, but as soon as she lifted the one that was still holding the wand, she felt an arm around her waist. The touch was somewhat gentle and firm at the same time and the smell that came with it made her look away from his face.

Shuhua’s face was closer than she expected, but Soojin pushed everything she felt to the side, because it still wasn’t enough to make her anger disappear. She tried to get away, but the girl’s grip was strong and it didn’t let her move.  
“Shu, seriously, let me go.”  
He started laughing, going back to the couch like nothing happened. She knew she shouldn’t have, but it was the only way to get Shuhua on her side. The problem was the younger had a way quicker temper, Soojin knew everything would’ve escalated, but right then she didn’t care. He deserved that.  
“ _Let me go._ He called Yuqi a mudblood.”  
Having to say the word herself disgusted her, but she knew she achieved her goal, because Shuhua slowly let her go. Something shifted in her eyes, she had never seen them go that dark, nor she had seen her face clench like that before.

Avery sensed something was wrong, because he got up again, but there was nothing he could do.   
“Stupeficium!” Shuhua almost shouted, raising her wand. While his body flew to the ground, people tried to get in the way, while others started laughing at the view. None of it mattered, no one could keep Shuhua in her place.   
She got close to the boy, that was still looking at her with a painful look from the ground.   
“What’s wrong with you? You crazy b–”  
“What’s wrong with _me_? You’re the asshole.”

As Soojin took a step forward to reach Shuhua and stop her from getting herself into more trouble, a hand was placed on her shoulder. Hui, that stayed silent the whole time, was shaking his head.  
“Don’t touch me.” He frowned, but he still did what she asked, bringing his hand down.  
“What the hell, Hui? You heard what he said.”  
“Yes, but –”  
“But what? It’s disgusting.”  
“I know, I just –”

“What’s happening here?”  
Everyone fell silent. They turned around to meet the girl that voice belonged to. Jennie, Soojin’s roommate and Slytherin’s headgirl, was standing near the entrance with her arm crossed and her eyebrow raised.  
For some understandable reason, even though she was usually really sweet, everyone was scared of her. They let her walk towards the middle of the common room, where Shuhua was standing over the Quidditch team captain.  
“She’s crazy, Jen.” Soojin noticed the way her lips trembled, she didn’t like the nickname coming from his mouth. “They both are.” He pointed at Soojin. “I just said I think we have the best seeker and they ganged up on me.”  
As expected, no one came forward to tell the truth.  
“Yeah, that’s what you said.” Soojin commented, grabbing her wand again.   
“It is, it’s not my fault you’re out of your mind.”  
“ _Enough._ ” Jennie intervened again and, despite being shorter than all of them, she looked twice as big when she glared at them. “I don’t want to hear it anymore. You’re going to tell professor McGonagall.”  
She turned around to quickly check the rest of the room, clenching her jaw. Soojin knew she hated people staring and laughing and spreading rumors, because she had experienced it on her own skin, so the disappointed look on her face wasn’t surprising at all.  
“The show is over everyone, go back to what you were doing.”

____________________________________

Minnie was walking up and down the hallway, waiting for the statue to turn around and reveal the stairs that led to the principal office. They heard what happened soon enough, but they weren’t allowed to go up, so they just decided to wait for Soojin and Shuhua.   
The noise was driving Soyeon insane, so she looked up, but the other Ravenclaw didn’t even notice.  
“Minnie, can you stop?”  
She didn’t listen, so Soyeon let out a loud sigh. Being friends with those girls felt like being a mother from time to time, but she didn’t have the patience to be a mother. 

Luckily Miyeon knew how to approach people way better, so she had to just watch while the Hufflepuff put a hand on Minnie’s cheek, making her stop walking right away. Soyeon had no idea what was going on between them, but she was sure things weren’t completely fine. Miyeon hadn’t been in their dorm at all since they came back from the Christmas break and Minnie didn’t go to hers either.  
Yet they acted like nothing happened from time to time, like when Minnie would pretend to be annoyed at Miyeon and the Hufflepuff would immediately pout. In that moment it was also different, Soyeon was watching one of their silent conversations that she found impossible to understand. Whatever Miyeon just said to Minnie, it seemed like it worked, because the Ravenclaw nodded, but she didn’t resume her endless walk.  
Soyeon smiled for a moment, but her mind went straight to Soojin. She didn’t know the girl since they were born, but she liked to think she knew her well enough to have the same kind of connection that allowed them to talk without saying a word. They didn’t have one of those in months, because the Slytherin’s eyes were more slippery than usual, but she knew they could.

Yuqi’s complaint brought her mind back to reality a few moments later. Soyeon knew patience wasn’t one of the younger’s virtues either and the sight of her holding a grunge when she realized they probably had to wait for a long time made the shorter one smile again. It didn’t go by unnoticed.  
“What?” Her frown grew bigger.  
Soyeon shook her head, but her lips refused to go back to a neutral position. “Nothing.”   
“You’re laughing at me.”  
“I’m not.” She sort of was. “It’s just that you’re cute when you get impatient.”  
She knew what the reaction was going to be, she might’ve said it just to see it. As expected, Yuqi complained louder than she did before.  
“Ah, seriously, stop calling me cute.”  
What Soyeon didn’t expect was for her to sound genuinely upset, so she looked behind in confusion. Minnie and Miyeon both shrugged, which was no help at all.  
“Are you okay?”   
She hated having to ask her in front of the other two, she wasn’t fond on people watching her struggle with basic social situations, even if the people in question already knew that weakness of her.   
“Yes. I just don’t like being called that.”  
It was a lie, Soyeon knew it was, because Yuqi always acted annoyed, but whenever no one called her cute for days she complained about it. She liked being cute, yet she was putting on that show for whatever reason. The Ravenclaw frowned, trying to find the right words not to fight with her girlfriend, especially since they weren’t alone, but she heard the statue moving noise and she immediately forgot about it.

The first one to come out was Avery, who smirked at Yuqi before walking off. If they didn’t have to worry about two of their friends, Soyeon would’ve chased him just for that, even without knowing the reason behind that smile.   
Then Hui came down, with a sad look on his face, and he also didn’t say anything, but he stayed.   
Soojin and Shuhua went down the stairs together, looking like they had just been condemned to ten years in Azkaban.   
“So? What happened?” Yuqi was the first one to ask, getting in their faces.   
“We got into a fight with Avery.”  
It was already common knowledge between the school walls.  
“But why?” Miyeon asked, putting a hand on Shuhua’s shoulder. The younger looked at Yuqi, then she lowered her head.  
“Anyway, I guess Gryffindor won’t have to worry about the Quidditch cup anymore.”  
Hui sighed, putting his back against the wall.  
“What?” Soyeon’s eyes went from him to her friends a couple times, trying to understand what they were talking about, since they took too long to tell them.  
“I got kicked from the team.” Shuhua finally let out, sniffing right after. Soojin’s arm was quick to be placed around her shoulders.   
“What? Why? Is this a joke?” The Gryffindor looked the most concerned out of them all, not only because her friend lost her spot in the team, but because she herself lost her biggest competitor.   
One look was enough for Soyeon to understand she was feeling guilty for something, not to mention how worried she looked every time her eyes laid on Yuqi’s face.  
“And we lost a hundred points.” The boy added, sounding more annoyed than Soyeon had ever saw him. She guessed he didn’t like Shuhua anymore.   
“You should go, Hui.” Soojin’s voice was sharper than a knife, the Ravenclaw wasn’t even sure it belonged to her best friend anymore. “We’ll talk later.”

His eyes stayed on her face for a moment, but then he just nodded, getting off the wall. “Sure. Bye.”  
They watched him walk away for a bit, but then Yuqi’s voice broke the silence once again.  
“Can you tell us what happened now?”  
It was as clear as day they didn’t want to. They looked at the Gryffindor, then at each other, then at Soyeon.  
“Guys?” Minnie’s voice was uncertain, but her soft and reassuring tone was enough to calm everyone down for a moment. “What did he do? Did he try to…?”  
She didn’t think of that possibility, but knowing Slytherin’s captain, it wouldn’t have been surprising. Soyeon frowned, waiting for the answer, but her feet were hitching, ready to get her to the dungeons if it was necessary.  
“No, no, nothing like that.” Soojin quickly denied, her arm still around Shuhua, holding her tightly. “He –” She sighed, but she couldn’t finish her sentence.  
“He said stuff about muggleborns.” The younger did it for her, and they all turned around to look at Yuqi right after. The Gryffindor didn’t react at all, but Soyeon felt boiling anger growing in her chest.  
“What? What did he say?”  
Soojin shook her head, but it wasn’t enough to convince her to give up.   
“Soojin.” She never called her with her full name, none of them did, but she knew it was necessary to get her attention. As soon as their eyes met, the Slytherin couldn’t look away anymore.  
“He used that word and he said they’re not – they’re not as good as the other wizards.”

Minnie held her breath, but that was the only sound that could be heard for about ten seconds. Then it was Yuqi’s laugh, that only got louder when moments passed. The other five looked so shocked they didn’t find the courage to ask her what was so funny.  
“Are you serious? You got kicked out for that?” As she said it, Soyeon began to understand. Yuqi couldn’t stand the idea of her friend losing her spot because of her, even though defending her had been Shuhua’s choice. She would’ve taken all responsibility. “You shouldn’t have. I don’t care if he thinks that about me.”  
Soyeon noticed how her eyes were filled with tears, but she knew it was better not to point that out.  
“Let me talk to professor McGonagall, I’m sure we can –”  
“We can’t.” Soojin said, leaving Shuhua’s side for the first time. There was no sign of the way he looked at Hui anymore, her eyes softened, just like her voice, and she put on a reassuring smile while stopping in front of the Gryffindor. “I’m the only one who heard him, it’s my word against his.”  
“And twenty people saw me using a stunning spell on him, so…” Shuhua added.  
“You shouldn’t have. Both of you.” Yuqi’s voice cracked, so she looked away to hide her embarrassment, but Soojin quickly cupped her face with both hands, forcing her to look up again.  
“We would do it again.” She didn’t see it, but Shuhua nodded behind her. “We have your back, Qi.”

Yuqi hated emotional talks, she had told her multiple times, because she couldn’t keep the tears in. None of them was surprised in seeing her cry, but Soojin – who was the closest one – put a hand behind her neck and pulled her in for a hug.   
“I love you. We all do.”  
It was a once in a lifetime event, they all knew it. Soojin was the best listener out of them all, she was a good friend, she gave good advices that she couldn’t follow herself, but she had a hard time being open about her feelings. She preferred to show her affection instead of talking about it, but she did with Yuqi. It was no surprise that the younger girl started sobbing either, but that shook the others from their shocked state.  
Soon enough, they found themselves in a group hug and they held each other until the Gryffindor’s tears stopped running.

____________________________________

Soojin had missed the silence between Hogwarts wall on Sundays. Before Yuqi and Shuhua, she rarely went to Quidditch matches, enjoying more the peace that came with it instead.  
The younger was not even allowed near the field for the time being and, since she felt guilty about the whole thing, Soojin decided to keep her company. They were on the Astronomy Tower, Soojin sitting on the floor with three books around her, Shuhua with her hands on the railing, listening to the echo of the crowd every time a chaser scored.   
“Shu.” She called, her voice almost getting lost in the wind, but the girl seemed to have hear it.   
She turned around with a frown on her face that made Soojin smile. She had a cute pout.   
“Come here.”   
She didn’t have to ask twice, because Shuhua sat down next to her a few moments later. She put her head on Soojin’s shoulder and they stayed like that for a bit, until the older turned around to leave a kiss on her head.   
“When did you last wash your hair?” She complained, holding a laugh while Shuhua hit her on the side, but she didn’t last that long and two giggling sounds filled the tower right after.

As soon as their gazes met, their laughs faded away, leaving space for a crashing silence that put a weight on Soojin’s chest. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. Shuhua wanted to come closer, but she couldn’t. They looked at each other for what felt like hours, before the older pulled away.  
“You should’ve let me handle it. You’d be playing right now.”  
She just shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but they both knew it was. Not only she liked playing Quidditch, but being on the team also helped her to fit in with the students of a new school. She had them of course, but everyone else was probably mad at her for getting herself kicked out.  
The thought of Shuhua having to go through other people’s hate because of her made her heart hurt. She took Shuhua’s hand, watching their fingers as they linked together. 

The younger girl was the only person, except for Soyeon, she enjoyed staying quiet with. Around other people she always hoped they would start talking about a random topic, because she was too do it herself but she also hated awkward silence. With Shuhua silence was comfortable, like slipping under your sheets after a tiring day.   
Minutes went by and the only sounds they heard came from the Quidditch pitch in the distance. Soojin still got flustered in watching Shuhua from time to time, it was a natural reaction when she couldn’t place the things she was feeling. It was calming, having her around, but it also made her heart beat ten times faster. It was settling, but it also felt like an earthquake.   
When the contradictory feeling met each other in Soojin’s head, that was when she had to look away to make the heat on her cheeks disappear. It never worked.

“I was thinking about the Shack.”  
Of all the things Shuhua could’ve said, that was the one she least expected. Not because she didn’t think about the Shrieking Shack herself every now and then, but because they all stopped talking about it. The image of a young, crying Soojin still gripped her heart and squeezed it until it hurt too much to be bearable.   
“What about it?”  
She knew it was not easy for the other girl either, considering the reason why her boggart was shaped like her own mother. She tightened the grip on Shuhua’s hand, just to let her know she wouldn’t let go.

She shook her head, avoiding Soojin’s eyes for some moments.   
“Just – my mom. How can she be the thing I fear the most? She’s my mom.”  
Shuhua’s voice sounded raw, more vulnerable than she had ever heard it. Perhaps it was the most vulnerable she had ever seen anyone, and the fact that she talked about her mother in present tense brought tears in Soojin’s eyes.   
“I don’t think she’s the one you’re actually scared of.” She managed to say, after bringing the other hand on her cheek. “It’s what she brought in your life, right? But I know she didn’t want you to go through it. You just need to forgive her and your fear will go away.”  
“I don’t know if I can ever forgive her.” She whispered, sniffing right after.   
“You will. You love her, you know she didn’t mean for any of this. It’s not something she could control.”  
“I know, but –” Shuhua got away from her touch, looking down to the ground. “Some things are too painful to be forgiven.”   
Soojin sighed, but she didn’t want to give up yet. She firmly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up again, and she met her with a little smile.  
“I don’t think so. When you love someone and you know their intentions weren’t bad, you will forgive them eventually.”  
She tried to look away again, but Soojin didn’t let go of her chin. For an endless moment, the older felt her head spinning, incapable of thinking about anything else that wasn’t Shuhua’s lips getting closer and closer. Her heart went faster than ever, so fast that her mind couldn’t catch up and she wasn’t able to keep that thought hidden anymore. She wanted to kiss her. Actually she didn’t want Shuhua’s kiss, she craved it. She was desperate to know how it felt having their lips brought together. 

It was a matter of seconds, because before the space between them could be closed, they heard the loudest cheer yet and Soojin was reminded of the match, the teams, the players, Hui.   
She let Shuhua’s chin go and she went back to look at the books around her, but she could still feel her burning gaze. As much as she tried to ignore it, she knew they would’ve had to talk about it.  
“Did you forgive your dad?”  
The younger surprised her again to a point that she made her forget how much she wanted to run away.  
“What?”  
“You said you’ll always forgive people you love eventually. Did you?” Her tone was nothing near the way it sounded before. It was now distant, sharp almost, like she wanted to cut her deep. Soojin sighed, laying her eyes on the girl’s face.  
“I have nothing to forgive him for.”  
“He brought you to some Dark Magic store and left you there.”  
“He didn’t leave me. I got lost. They found me soon enough.”  
“They?” Shuhua frowned.  
“Him and the owner. They opened the closet and found me there, that’s it.”  
“So you remember.”  
She stayed silent for a few moments, pondering what she wanted to say. She had thought about that day more than she cared to admit during the last months, but she never told anyone about the details she was able to recall.  
“Yes, I do. He was with a bald man, he was dressed in all black and had a scar on his face.” She felt some sort of relief, saying it out loud. “He was around sixty, I think. He kept looking at me in a weird way, but then my dad just brought me outside.”   
She didn’t even notice how her whole face clenched at the thought of that man. She waited a few seconds, but when Shuhua said nothing, she shook the image out of her head.  
“It doesn’t matter anyway, it’s in the past.”  
“I think it matters.” The younger argued. “That’s serious. What if he’s involved in something illegal?”  
“He’s not.” She was firm, certain of it, or at least she looked like she was. She didn’t know what to believe anymore.  
“You don’t know. What was he doing in a store like that?”

She started closing the book, she didn’t want to hear it anymore. Deep down she knew she should’ve listened to Shuhua, but she still didn’t want to, especially when she heard her laughing.  
“Of course you’re running away.” She stopped, piercing her eyes on Shuhua’s.   
“What is that supposed to mean?”  
“What do you think?”  
Soojin let out another sigh, she had lost count of how many times she had to sigh in the last hour. She got up, shoving the books inside her bag, then she looked down at the girl once more.  
“I think you’re reading it all wrong.”  
“Am I?”  
Her question was followed by nothing but silence. For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to say a simple yes.   
“You’re lying to yourself, Jin, you know it.”  
She shook her head, trying to escape Shuhua’s eyes. She couldn’t bare it anymore, the girl made the air suffocating.   
“I have to go meet with Hui.”  
For the first time, she was able to acknowledge the reason why Shuhua’s face dropped. She felt the need to walk up to her and hold her until she could see her smile again, but she stood right where she was. No one added anything else, and Soojin gulped once before turning around to go down the stairs.

Shuhua was left alone, listening to the crowd getting closer to the castle. After five minutes, the students were close enough to let her understand what they were saying: they where shouting Yuqi’s name.

___________________________________

It became an habit, Soyeon meeting Yuqi in the changing room when everyone was gone. That time was not different, or perhaps it was, because as soon as the Ravenclaw’s eyes laid on the girl’s figure, still in her Quidditch uniform, her mind stopped working.  
She knew something had switched when she saw how determined her girlfriend was after hearing what the Slytherin captain thought of her. That look on her face made her knees feel like jelly, but she knew she couldn’t distract her before the match.   
Seeing her hand close on the Golden Snitch about half an hour before – it hit her. Of course she always knew, but it actually hit her how attractive Yuqi’s determination was. She would tell her she was cute just to enjoy her reaction, but right then she couldn’t find even one single word to tease the girl.

Yuqi looked at her in confusion, with a sweater in her hands. It was probably what she was planning to wear after having a shower. For some reason, Soyeon didn’t want her to get off her uniform yet.  
“Are you alright?”   
She didn’t give her time to ask again, putting a hand behind her neck to let their lips crash. She didn’t notice how the younger’s eyes widened just to be shut right after.   
Soyeon bit her lower lip, getting a suffocated moan in response, which gave her access to Yuqi’s mouth. Their tongues played with each other for long, until they were both out of breath. As soon the Ravenclaw’s eyes opened, the other girl smirked at her.  
“So you do like me that way.”  
“Uh?”  
“I thought I was cute.”  
Soyeon raised her eyebrows, pulling away so that she could see her face better. She copied Yuqi’s smirk.  
“You are cute.”  
The Gryffindor grunted, rolling her eyes.

“But winning this match was kind of hot.”  
“Well, it’s not like their second seeker is as good as Sh– wait, what did you say?”  
Soyeon let out a cheerful laugh, watching her girlfriend’s expression change to a shocked one.   
“You heard me.”  
“I didn’t.”  
“Don’t push me.”  
It was clearly not the best choice of words, especially not when a Gryffindor like her was always ready turn everything into a challenge. She took it quite literally, grabbing Soyeon by the hoodie and pushing her back until her back met the wall. Of course she wouldn’t let the Ravenclaw lead the game for too long. She didn’t mind letting her in charge anyway.

The second kiss was hungrier than the first, with the air heating up and getting filled by heavy breathing and the sound of lips parting just to meet again not even a second later.   
“Want to shower together?” Yuqi asked, between a kiss and another one, causing Soyeon to smile against her lips.  
Before they could get away from the wall, they heard knocking. Yuqi whispered a curse, before asking who it was.  
“Uh, it’s me.” Lucas, the guy that always tried to flirt with her. At least he was still talking from the outside, so Soyeon could bring her lips to Yuqi’s neck while she focused on what to say to him.  
“We were wondering if you wanted to go back to the common room together.”  
“Uh –” She had to put her hand against the wall, while Soyeon focused on a bit of skin, turning it into a dark shade of red. “I still have to shower.” She managed to say.  
“Oh! We could wait, it’s not a problem.”  
The Ravenclaw smirked, before putting a leg between Yuqi’s and raising it until it touched her girlfriend’s most sensitive spot. She watched her close her eyes, trying to collect herself. Soyeon liked having that hold on her, and most of all she liked being the one making her struggle like that when Lucas was waiting outside for nothing.   
“No! It’s fine. It’s –” She had to bite her own lip when Soyeon moved her leg to cause a little friction. Their eyes met, and the Ravenclaw tried to look as innocent as possible, while moving still moving the leg. Yuqi’s eyes were as dark as she had ever seen them.   
“Are you sure you’re okay?”  
“Uh-uh.” Her breathing became more irregular second by second, Soyeon could see the lucidity leave her face every time her hips moved against the older girl’s leg. “I just really need a shower. Please don’t wait for me, I’ll see you later.”  
She didn’t dare to say it, but it was cute how desperate for him to go away she sounded.   
“Alright, we’ll wait for you to start celebrating.”  
“Thanks, I’ll be quick. Bye!”

They waited for less than a minute before silently declaring he was gone. Of course, how Lucas would’ve soon learnt, Yuqi wouldn’t be quick at all.


	15. of melodies and acceptance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again, i'm back on track with the updates :)  
> thank you so much for the insane support, it really keeps me going!  
> so i have done some organization and i can tell you that: this is the last chapter before the "finale", which will be split in three parts, and then there will be the epilogue! also you might've noticed i added the fic to a series, that's because i have something in mind, but i won't tell you until the last chapter of course!  
> enjoy, i think this is a very emotionally packed chapter, i liked writing it!  
> oh, the song mentioned is halo by beyoncé, just for reference :)
> 
> ( no special tags for this one )

Valentine’s Day was perhaps the strangest event that happened in Hogwarts during the school year. Students were allowed to go to Hogsmeade village, which was decorated with all sorts of pink and red banners.  
The castle was way more neutral, but it had a feature Miyeon didn’t like at all. On that day, little hearts made of pink smoke appeared over the students’ head, but only if they were in love with someone. As soon as the Hufflepuff woke up, they were already there.  
She found the reminder annoying, but she figured it didn’t matter too much, since no one would’ve actually seen it. Soojin and Hui decided to fix what went wrong in their relationship in those last few weeks, or at least try. Yuqi and Soyeon said they wanted to make fun of all the sweet couples, but all of them knew they were just too proud to say they were going on a date. Shuhua said something about Hogsmeade too, but Miyeon didn’t understand, or the younger girl made sure she wouldn’t understand.

Only Minnie was left, and she knew the girl would’ve stayed in the castle. She tried to approach her multiple times during the previous week, but Miyeon never let her. She wasn’t sure she would’ve been able to say no, if she asked her to go out.  
She was fine with using the quiet day to keep up with assignments, since the final exams were closer everyday and she already skipped many days of studying because she wasn’t focused enough. 

She met a few students on her way to the third floor, but after a quick look at the hearts on her head, they just walked past. She didn’t care that much about rumors spreading anyway, she hated that day more because she was forced to think about things she didn’t want to think about. How much she missed Minnie, for example, and her cute laugh, the way she held a grunge every time Miyeon didn’t give her what she wanted, the way her hair color switched when they were kissing.  
She missed everything about her, which was the reason why she chose that studying spot. Even though their relationship had seen better days, she still knew her Minnie, she knew she would hide inside the music room whenever she was feeling sad. And she knew she _was_ feeling sad, because that was what Miyeon felt too.

She settled in the classroom next to the music room, opened her Transfiguration book and started making schemes and taking notes.  
She was unexpectedly focused, but all her concentration was thrown out of the window as soon as she heard the first note coming from the piano next door. It didn’t have to be her, the instruments could be played by everyone, but Miyeon got up nonetheless, just in case.  
She stopped by the door, watching as the black haired girl moved the fingers on the keys with an elegance she didn’t show in any other occasion. Even if Minnie didn’t sing, except for some whispered lyrics here and there, she still recognized the song. It was the first song she ever requested when her best friend learnt how to play the piano, the song she wished someone dedicated to her someday. 

“ _You’re everything I need and more…_ ” She quietly sang, just before cutting herself off, but a single line brought Miyeon a hundred feet high from the ground. She was aware the song choice was not a coincidence, and she wondered how many times Minnie had played Hufflepuff’s favorite songs in the past months.

She listened until the end just like she always did, not just because she didn’t want to interrupt her, but mostly because she simply couldn’t. The way Minnie’s hands flew on the piano keys was too mesmerizing to look away, let alone to make any sound so that she could stop.  
Just when silence filled the room, Miyeon dared to take the few steps keeping them apart. Without saying a single word at first she put her arms around her neck, hugging her from behind. She smiled when the Ravenclaw jumped on the spot, startled by her presence, but as soon as she recognized her best friend, she relaxed her shoulders.  
“Were you here the whole time? Creepy.” She said, but her tone betrayed her, showing how much she enjoyed Miyeon being there.  
“Why? Were you planning on play this song for someone?”  
Minnie put on a grin, raising her chin to look at her. “Of course, there’s this cute Gryffindor I met –”  
She knew it wasn’t real, she even smiled at her joke, but she also loosened the hug, taking a step back. 

“I’m kidding.” Minnie quickly clarified, with a panicked look in her eyes.  
“I know.”  
There was a moment when they just stared at each other and Miyeon wondered if she did the wrong thing, listening to the melody and letting herself rest for a moment from the tiring experience of forcing a distance that wasn’t meant to be there.  
She wasn’t sure she could put the wall up anymore, not when Minnie’s eyes were so full of hope, yet the few inches she put between their bodies reminded her of what was broken. Broken, she had to say, was an understatement.  
Staying away from Minnie felt like someone tore her skin apart and the wound, instead of healing with time, only got worse day after day. It was sort of ironic that the Ravenclaw was the only person that could ease the pain she caused herself.

“Remember when you told me this was your favorite song?”  
Without even noticing, Miyeon put on a smile. Of course she remembered. They were twelve, Minnie had just started taking piano lessons, but she promised her she would’ve learned how to play that song just for her.  
“I barely slept for days.” She admitted, with a smile on her face. “I would lock myself in my room and play it for hours every night. My parents hated me.” She let out a chuckle, but stopped looking at Miyeon, the Hufflepuff knew it was due to embarrassment; Minnie liked to show affection, but saying it out loud was always harder for her.  
“You never told me.” She didn’t think her voice would come out so shaky, but it did. Minnie shrugged, turning around to face the piano again.  
“I didn’t mind, seeing you that happy was worth the lack of sleep.”  
That was what she was scared of, the main reason why she tried to escape her best friend for weeks. She knew that the first time they would’ve had a conversation like that one, she wouldn’t have been able to stand her ground. Minnie knew what buttons to press and what tone to use and how to look at her to make Miyeon collapse on herself.  
She visibly lowered her shoulder, as if she just let go the weight she was trying to hold for almost two months.  
“Get up.” She managed to keep her voice firm this time, so much it surprised Minnie, who was now looking at her in confusion.  
“What?”  
She didn’t repeat it, she just raised her eyebrows. That was enough for the Ravenclaw to stand up in front of her, even though she didn’t find the courage to get close.

They stared into each other eyes for some seconds, then Miyeon decided to take the last step forward, both physically and metaphorically. She wrapped her arms around Minnie’s shoulder, but before the girl could lean on any further, she pulled her in tight hug.  
She knew Minnie was surprised, she was as well, but looking at the girl so closely made her realized she was still too scared to leave everything behind. She still wanted her best friend back, even if it meant carrying that painful feeling for longer. It hurt more staying apart anyway.

After a moment where they both felt uncertain, like their bodies weren’t made for each other anymore, they found the perfect match again. They relaxed at the same time, Minnie hiding her face against Miyeon’s neck, Miyeon enjoying the scent of Minnie’s dark hair.  
“I missed you.” The Ravenclaw whispered, and she felt an unsettling shiver irradiating from the point where the girl’s breath crashed against her skin.  
“I missed you too.” She still didn’t let go, perhaps because not watching her was easier. “How about we go to Hogsmeade? You know Valentine’s chocolates are my favorite.”  
Minnie chuckled, hugging her a bit tighter. “Sure.”

_________________________________

Soojin expected Hui to say something for endless minutes, hours maybe, but nothing came. They sat down at the Three Broomsticks Inn, just next to one of the few windows, and drank their butterbeers for awhile.  
“Look.” He was the one that broke the silence, putting his hand over Soojin’s. It was still warm, but it didn’t feel comfortable anymore. “I’m really sorry, I know I should’ve said something to him, I just froze.”  
He apologized throughout the whole week, but he apparently didn’t think it was enough. The girl knew he was ashamed, she also put herself in his shoes. Hui’s father was not the most reasonable wizard according to the boy, it was unclear what he could’ve done if his son got involved in a duel and got kicked out of the team as well. She knew Hui disliked the Quidditch captain, but he had to hold on until the end of the school year before he could find a job and get out of his house.  
They talked about it and, even though the crack between them looked unrepairable, she promised him a roof, in case he didn’t find one straight away.  
“It’s fine, really.” She flipped her hand so that she could hold his, showing him a reassuring smile. “At least you’re still in the team. I just don’t understand how can you think of him as a friend.” 

Hui sighed, leaning back on his chair after letting go of her hand. He looked at the half empty glass on the table and Soojin knew he was avoiding her eyes. They were so much alike, she realized, perhaps that was the reason that brought them together. It made her feel safe, having someone with flaws so similar to hers by her side.  
“He’s not everything you see. I know he acts like an asshole –”  
“He _is_ an asshole.”  
He quietly looked up for a moment, before nodding.  
“He is, but sometimes he isn’t. The part of him that isn’t an asshole is my friend.”  
“It doesn’t work like that.” She wasn’t sure she was talking about Avery anymore, but she kept explaining. “You can’t pick the bits you like and ignore everything else. Either you accept everything he is, or you don’t.”  
Soojin’s words seemed to have given him a lot to think about, because he didn’t reply at first. He simply took a sip of his butterbeer and watched her while she did the same.  
“You deserve better people around you, Hui.”  
“What if I don’t want them?” He frowned, focusing on the details of the table’s wood. “What if I just want the people I have now?”  
They clearly weren’t talking about Avery anymore now.  
“Then you’re going to have to take responsibility when they disappoint you.”  
“I don’t care.” His answer came quicker than any other before that and his eyes were firmly locked into the girl’s. “It’s my choice. I’m willing to take the risk, if you want.”  
He leaned towards her, putting his hand back on the table, hoping Soojin would take it. 

Except Soojin’s attention was driven away in that exact moment, as soon as she caught a glimpse of someone she knew well just out of the window.  
Shuhua was quickly making her way between the couples, with the uniform cape covering her whole body except for the head. The weirdest thing was she suspiciously looked around, almost like she didn’t want to be spotted, but she was unlucky enough Soojin and Hui chose that spot next to the window.  
“Jin?”  
She turned around to meet the boy’s hopeful eyes, feeling a grip around her heart. She knew she couldn’t come back from that, especially not when Hui was almost begging her to try and fix their relationship, but she also knew her choice was made in the exact moment her eyes laid on Shuhua’s figure.  
“I have to go.” She tried to ignore the way his face dropped. “We’ll talk about this later.”  
She gently caressed his cheek, before leaving the pub in a hurry, worried she might have lost the girl already.

She was not wrong, because Shuhua couldn’t be found anywhere. She looked every student in the face, she peeked inside every shop and pub in the main street from the windows, but she soon had to admit she wasn’t quick enough.  
While making her way back to the Three Broomsticks Inn, she then saw something that caught her attention. Sneaking towards one of the secondary streets there was a woman looking around just as Shuhua did a few minutes before. Next to her another person with a hood over their head, but Soojin recognized the school cape and, even though she couldn’t be certain, everything pointed at her younger friend.  
She let them slide in the tight street and waited just ten seconds before retracing their steps. She got close just in time to see the woman enter Hog’s Head, the least recommendable pub in the whole village, and close the door behind her. 

She didn’t know why, but she felt her heart pounding so fast it might’ve jumped outside of her chest. Taking a deep breath, she collected all the courage she needed to step forward, curious about what was going on inside the pub. Worried, even. Hurt, mostly.  
Since Shuhua turned seventeen, she tried her best not to leave her alone because she wanted to protect the girl, but it became clear she didn’t appreciate Soojin’s attention. She never mentioned a woman before, but it looked like the two knew each other, and the sneaking could only mean she wasn’t an old family friend wanting to meet her for a cup of tea.  
Soojin started to regret sacrificing so much for someone that didn’t even want, or need, her help. She even considered turning back and leaving it all behind, reaching Hui to apologize to him, but she knew it was too late. 

She got closer to the pub’s entrance, but when only a dozen steps were keeping her away, she felt a firm grip on her arm, right before she got pulled away from the street. Her back was put against a wall, one of Shuhua’s hands was still holding onto her arm, while the other was pressed against her shoulder to keep her pinned to the dark bricks.  
If she looked around, she would’ve noticed they were in the alley that led to the back of the Hog’s Head pub, but her eyes couldn’t look away from Shuhua’s close face.  
“Why are you following me?” The girl asked without even trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. She was still mad from their last conversation, but right then Soojin’s feelings were just as strong.  
“Why are you sneaking like you’re involved in something illegal?”  
She tried to get her hand off her shoulder, but the younger didn’t let go. It took Soojin every bit of mental strength she had not to focus on how being put in that position made her feel.  
“I asked first.”  
Shuhua always knew how make her feel uncomfortable, she had her pinned against a wall since the first time she laid her eyes on her, when Soojin had to focus on her papers because the new girl’s gaze was too much to handle. Too insisting, too burning, too mesmerizing. Just too much.  
It fed her desire to hide behind her own arms, or the arms of someone that made her feel safe. Shuhua wasn’t that person, she simply couldn’t be. Shuhua was more like a storm that took her by surprise and destroyed everything she had carefully built over the years, every single brick she had placed to raise walls around her – it was all gone.  
“Just tell me what’s going on, Shu.” She stopped fighting. As soon as the realization that she couldn’t hide from her anymore hit her, she relaxed her shoulders, completely giving up. “Let me help.”  
Shuhua shook her head, unable to say anything. Her eyes started to fill with tears and, before she even knew it, she pulled back, finally giving Soojin the space to move. Soojin didn’t move, she just tried to understand what went on inside her head.  
She couldn’t possibly imagine what she had to agree to in exchange of her own protection. 

“Let me help.” She repeated, raising a hand, but before she could get it close to the girl’s face, Shuhua slapped it away.  
“You can’t!” She raised her voice so much she was almost shouting. Soojin looked around to check if someone was going to peek their head into the alley, but she had to focus on Shuhua right back. “Nobody can, don’t you understand? You can’t help me, McGonagall can’t help me, my dad can’t help me. I’m alone in this.”  
“No, you’re not.” Soojin got away from the wall, trying to get close to the girl, but she pushed her once again. Her back hurt from the collision this time, but other than making a face, she didn’t let out anything else.  
“I am.” Her tone was back to its usual volume, but it didn’t make any better. If anything, it made it worse. “What are you going to do to help me? Kill the entire Chinese Ministry?”  
She couldn’t promise that, Shuhua knew. Even if she tried, they would’ve killed her first.  
“That’s what I thought.” She then added, lowering her head. 

It felt like watching Shuhua crumble right before her eyes, seeing her head hang loose that way, it made her feel like she was crumbling as well. Shuhua’s pain became her pain, it didn’t matter how much they tried to push each other away.  
She saw a tear drop on the girl’s shoe, followed by many others. She didn’t realize at that time, but she started crying too while closing the gap between them. Her touch was gentle, but she still didn’t let go when Shuhua tried to get away from her and eventually the younger gave in.  
She put her forehead against Soojin’s shoulder and began to shake between her arms.  
“I’m sorry.” She said, after stopping her sobbing. “I’m so sorry.”

Her apologizes didn’t feel right to Soojin, she knew she did nothing wrong. She was the first one to run away when things got a little harder, she couldn’t judge the way the other girl acted during the last weeks.  
“Don’t say that.” She should’ve apologized in the first place, but that lump in her throat kept her from saying everything she wanted to say. She simply kept caressing her hair, waiting for her to calm down.

She was forced to back away several minutes later, when she heard loud noises coming from the street. First a door getting slammed, then the angry voice that belonged to someone she knew very well.  
She frowned, leaving the girl to check what was going on. She didn’t think much of it at that time, but Shuhua didn’t follow her straight away.

Her father was standing in the middle of the street with his wand in his hand, trying to point it at the three men surrounding him. A small crown started gathering around them as soon as people heard the noise from the main street.  
“Dad? Dad!” She called him, getting close, but not close enough to interfere.  
“Baby girl.” He was clearly surprised to see her, he for sure didn’t come to Hogsmeade to visit his daughter.  
The men took the chance fairly soon, one of them disarmed him from his wound, while another one used a non verbal spell to tie him tightly. He tried to wiggle out of the invisible chains, but it as impossible getting rid of an Incarceramus spell without magic, she had studied the topic already.  
She took a step forward, her hand already inside the coat, but the third man put himself between her and her father.  
“Step aside. I won’t ask you twice.” He said, and at that close distance Soojin noticed his uniform, identical to the other two’s. They were Aurors.  
“Seo Jihoon, you’re under arrest for illegal traffics of dark artefacts. You will be kept in Azkaban until the Wizengamot will declare you innocent or guilty.” They didn’t proceed to read his rights, but he didn’t deny what they were blaming him for either. His eyes were locked into her daughter’s. She couldn’t read a single emotion in them.

As she felt an arm around her waist, she realized Yuqi and Soyeon found out about the situation, because the Ravenclaw was holding her tight to keep her from run towards the man.  
“Hey, look at me.” She whispered in her ears, but Soojin couldn’t. How could she look at someone ever again? She just wanted to disappear.  
“Soojin.” Soyeon tried again, but it didn’t matter how many times she called her name, her eyes were glued on the spot where her father and the Aurors disappeared with a pop.  
The blood pressuring her head made her so nauseous and dizzy she felt somewhat happy someone was holding her, but she still got rid of Soyeon’s grip after just a few minutes. A sea of students was still gathered around them and Soojin knew they were all looking at her, she couldn’t take it.  
“I need to be alone.” She mumbled and, even though she wasn’t sure her best friend heard her, she made her way towards the main street, where she was hit by a mouthful of fresh air that made her feel immediately better. She could at least breathe again.

She was almost outside the village when she stumbled upon a guy that quickly put his hands on her arms to hold her still. If he was that far from the Hog’s Head, it meant he probably didn’t know what just happened, and she had no intention in talking about it.  
It also meant she had no excuses to get away.  
“Hey, are you alright?”  
She nodded, but couldn’t get a single word out of her mouth.  
“Can we talk?”  
She didn’t want to, she just wanted to hide and cry herself to sleep. She nodded again.  
“I thought about it and, uh –” He was leaving her as well, she knew he was, he just had to find the right words. “You were right. About people disappointing me and all.”  
She was starting to hate how calm he was even when his eyes and his words told how mad he was feeling.  
“I thought we could fix things, but I get it now.”  
“What? What is it that you get?” She swallowed her tears back, feeling the anger and the frustration growing inside her chest, eating her alive.  
“I would never be first.” He spit out, raising his voice just a bit. “And I’m not talking about you putting your friends before me, I would get that. It’s just that I could never be the person you’re in love with the most.”  
It felt like he had just slapped her. Or perhaps if he slapped her, it would’ve hurt less.  
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
He shook his head, giving her a smile that had nothing to it except for the painful awareness of the truth.  
“You do. We both do. Hell, even _she_ does. You’re always going run after her, today was just the last proof I needed.”  
“Stop. She needs me, she’s going through a lot.”  
“And I’m not?”  
“It’s not the same, Hui! Not even remotely close!”  
They started shouting, getting the attention of the few people going by, which was the last thing she wanted.  
“Tell me what it is then! Help me understand!”  
She looked away, biting her lower lip. There was no way she could tell him even a portion of the truth.  
“I can’t.”  
He sighed, but he didn’t look surprised.  
“Tell me something then. If we were in the same situation, me and her… who would you run after?”

It would’ve been easy, telling him a pretty lie, it would’ve saved them a lot of suffering. All it would’ve took was a word, a _you_ and she could’ve been hiding in his arms. He gave her comforting hugs all the time, he felt warm and steady.  
Hui wasn’t a storm like her, he felt more like a sunny day in spring. The only problem was she was ready to admit she liked the rain and the thunders and everything in between, so she kept her mouth shut, looking at him right in his eyes.  
“Stop lying to yourself.” He concluded with a whisper, then he leaned on to leave a kiss on her forehead. “You deserve to be happy too.”

If she had space for anything else, she would’ve felt the guilt in letting him go, but right then Hui was just another one in the list of things she had lost. Him, her father, and somehow it felt like she was losing Shuhua too.  
She was left alone at the village entrance for a long time with the feeling that it would’ve been her life from that point. Standing alone while people walked by her, watching, but not talking. 

“Jin?” Miyeon’s doubtful voice got to her ears, but it took her moments before she could register it actually belonged to her friend. The Hufflepuff was standing in front of her with Minnie on her side and they both looked extremely worried.  
She still wanted to be left alone, but she wasn’t sure she had the strength to push someone else away anymore.  
“Hey.” Miyeon rubbed her thumb on her cheeks to wipe the tears away and, without asking for permission, she pulled her in for a hug. Minnie joined straight away, caressing her back in the meantime. “It’s okay.” The Hufflepuff whispered in her ear, placing a kiss on her dark hair. “We’re here.”


	16. of truths, part one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello :) i still have to respond to the comments under the previous chapter, but i really wanted to get this out first!  
> i have nothing much to say, except for the fact that the events might seem rushed, but i promise it will make sense in the end  
> enjoy it and prepare for the ride :)

Jeon Soyeon had always been the weird type, that one girl everyone tried to avoid because no one could understand her. She wasn’t the usual kid that liked to play with dolls or stuffed toys, she was far more into reading and writing and her mind worked in ways not even adults could really get.  
Her family started looking at her from afar, because she was a mystery even for them no matter how hard they tried. They loved her, all three of them, but they had no idea on how to approach the youngest of the family.

She was eleven when she first felt like she could have a friend. Three friends, to be precise. The first one was one of her roommates, this extravagant girl who changed her hair color everyday and had just lost her two front teeth. They didn’t talk much at first, but Minnie – like everyone had learned to call her since the first week – never failed in making her smile. She never stopped trying and, even though she could’ve befriended even the older students, she sticked to Soyeon’s side.  
Minnie didn’t come alone, she was the half of an inseparable pair. The other half, Cho Miyeon, was a cute girl that was sorted in Hufflepuff on her own. She was shy, not much as a social butterfly as her best friend was, but something in her eyes made Soyeon feel at peace. It took them some time to fit together, but by the end of the first school year the Ravenclaw couldn’t imagine her life without Miyeon anymore. 

Then there was Seo Soojin, a quiet girl that looked like she didn’t belong in Slytherin at all. She always seemed scared to talk to anyone, so she just sat at the back row for every class and didn’t interact with any of her classmates.   
Seo Soojin proved herself to be an incredibly talented witch since her first months in Hogwarts, gaining the teachers’ attention right away. It took them only a few months to find out she could’ve easily been the top student of her year and she was, at least in the beginning.   
A lot started to envy her, but most of their classmates wanted to keep her close. Sadly, underneath the straight face and the shyness, Soojin was the kindest soul Soyeon had ever stumbled upon. They bonded almost immediately when the Slytherin stepped up to defender her from a group of older guys, and that was when Soyeon knew she would’ve never let her go. Seo Soojin listened. Not only she looked at her with the most interested gaze she had ever seen, but she also was able to keep up with Soyeon’s mind most of the time.   
She never judged her, not even that time she admitted her mind failed her from time to time. She just stared for two or three seconds, just long enough so that Soyeon could decide if she wanted to tell her more. She did. She told her about the dark holes she had when she was little sometimes, holes that became fairly rare in her school year. Soojin didn’t tell her to see a therapist, nor she deflected like her mother always did. She listened the whole time, until Soyeon was too tired to keep talking about it. Relieved, but tired. 

The problem in being that close to her since the very first days of their Hogwarts life was that she had to witness too much without being able to do anything about it. The Slytherin had too much trust and too much love to give, so much that Soyeon never stopped wondering if perhaps she belonged in Hufflepuff more than anything else.   
She soon lost count of how many people took advantage of her kindness and, as far as she tried to warn her, Soojin always responded with a smile, even when her eyes were filled with tears. 

It all changed around fifth year. Soojin slowly started to close in herself, leaving behind whoever made her feel bad in the past, even though she always professed everyone needed a second chance. At the end of the year, she had only three people with her, but even with them it wasn’t the same. The difference was slight, but Soyeon noticed how she refused to open up with her friends, even if she didn’t understand the reason.   
Her school achievements took a turn as well as her behavior and, given how high the expectations around her were, that affected her more than she cared to admit.   
When Yuqi got closer to them, Soojin was the last one to give in. Soyeon was convinced she wouldn’t have, if the Gryffindor wasn’t so stubborn to almost force herself in the older’s heart. She watched the way her best friend pretended not to like the younger, but still treated her with the same care reserved for the three of them. 

Besides for having another person in their small group, nothing really changed and, entering her last year, Soojin just became more distant and cynical, almost the complete opposite of the Seo Soojin who stood by Soyeon’s side when she most needed it.   
The Ravenclaw was close to give up understanding her best friend, until the arrival of an half Chinese and half Taiwanese young witch. She felt jealous at first, noticing how much Soojin was interested in a stranger, even though she tried to push her away for months.   
Soyeon had a lot of trouble in getting how other people’s brains worked, included her best friends’, but once she found the right piece of the puzzle – it all made sense, just like that. It made sense why Soojin’s eyes looked like they were constantly watching something no one else could see. She also knew something about being trapped in her own mind, after all, and noticing how her best friend’s face lit up only when Shuhua was in the room made her realize how foolish she had been. 

She wanted to get Soojin to open up for weeks, but for one reason or another she was still yet to approach her. The Slytherin haven’t had some free time in forever, or it felt like it, and Soyeon herself spent most of hers with Yuqi.  
Now it didn’t feel like it was the time anymore, with all that happened in Hogsmeade just a few days before, but she still took place on the stone bench placed in Hogwarts park, right next to her best friend. She didn’t turn around to look at her, her eyes stayed pierced to the lake in the distance, but Soyeon knew she wasn’t watching anything in particular. 

“My mom asked me to stay here.” She raised a hand to show the letter she was holding.  
“Why?”  
Soojin shrugged.   
“I guess she want me away from the mess. Auror putting our house upside down and all.”  
“Is there a possibility they won’t find anything?”  
“They won’t find anything.” She sounded absolutely certain of it. Soyeon didn’t know what to say, since the Aurors must’ve had some sort of proof in their hands.  
“She promised.” Soojin added, and both of them knew she was trying to convince herself. “She said they have nothing and he’ll be free in no time.”

Soyeon opened her mouth, but nothing came out of it. She wasn’t sure what would’ve been worse between the two options, if telling her what she thought was the truth or telling her what she needed to hear.   
She didn’t have to choose in the end, because Soojin finally looked at her. She expected her eyes to look watery, but they weren’t, nor they were red. Soojin hadn’t cried at all that day, not even reading that letter from her mother.   
“I have to trust her. If I can’t trust my parents, I can’t trust anyone else.”  
Her voice was unsettlingly calm and it made her feel uncomfortable, because that was not how anyone else would’ve reacted. Perhaps that was the reason they got so close, her and Soojin, because they never acted like they were supposed to.   
“You can trust us.” For the first time in months, she knew what she needed to say to her best friend. “You know that, right? We’re always by your side. All four of us. Actually –” She paused, uncertain if she should’ve brought it up. “All five of us.”

The Slytherin seemed doubtful, she looked at her for long, almost as if she was trying to read something in Soyeon’s face, and maybe she was.  
“I don’t know if I can trust her. I can’t understand her.”  
Soyeon couldn’t hold the laugh in, but she tried to suffocate it immediately.   
“There’s nothing to understand. Shuhua would die for you and it’s been like that since day one.”  
“But she won’t let me close enough to help her. She keeps avoiding me, and I – I know she’s scared, but who would want to go through something like this alone?”  
They stared at each other for a long handful of seconds, and the answer was clear even before Soyeon could say it out loud. “You.”  
Soojin looked away, not finding anything else to say. It was pointless, trying to lie to the person that knew her better than anyone else. Her and Shuhua were similar in many aspects, just as much as they were different, and that was the reason why they were so attracted to each other.  
That kind of bond – even Soyeon, with her lack of understanding human beings, knew it – was not something people commonly had. Not even her and Yuqi, or Minnie and Miyeon. She never believed in destiny, but she would’ve said it was fate that brought Seo Soojin and Yeh Shuhua together.   
“Let’s go inside, you’re being way too overdramatic. You’re going to take Yuqi’s spot soon.”  
Soojin smiled and Soyeon did the same, placing a hand over the girl’s. She knew, somehow, she got her best friend back.

________________________________

Nothing happened for days. Soojin had thought about her conversation with Soyeon multiple times, but she was still yet to gather the strength to talk to Shuhua. She felt like it never was the right moment, with everything that was going on in her life.   
She had to admit, anyway, her best friend was right, she could trust them all. She never really stopped to think about it before, but once she did – she realized those five girls were like a second family for her.   
She also realized she held her breath for month and having someone willing to help her carry the huge weight on her shoulder felt better than she expected. She felt some sort of relief in letting Miyeon or Yuqi hug her and she felt home whenever Minnie tried – and succeeded – to be annoying. 

Her mind was still mostly occupied by the image of her father getting taken away, but her trust in her parents grew at the same speed as the worrying feeling she had while waiting for the process to happen. They knew it was going to be held on the third day of March, and as the date got closer, her friends tried to stay with her as long as possible, leaving her alone only during sleep time. 

On March fourth, none of them went into the Great Hall to have breakfast. They sat down at the bottom of the Grand Staircase instead, waiting for one of their Daily Prophet copies to get delivered. Even though they were all nervous, Yuqi and Minnie started fighting about which owl would be the fastest to find them.  
“Of course it’s going to be mine, we have a special connection. I could disappear in the thickest forest and he would still be able to find me.”  
She brought a smile on everyone’s lips, because of course she had to exaggerate everything that came out of her mouth.  
“Yuqi, your owl is the slowest bird I’ve ever seen in my life.” Soyeon added, and Soojin knew it was just to annoy her, which worked like a charm.  
“He isn’t!” The Gryffindor – to no one’s surprise – put on a grunge, crossing her arms.   
“He is.” Miyeon confirmed, trying to slide away on the step right after, but she still couldn’t escape the younger’s fist, that hit her on the arm. The Hufflepuff complained right before hitting her back, and Minnie had to change sit to put herself in between them to prevent anything else from happening. 

Yuqi was massaging her shoulder, her pout only grown bigger in the last few minutes.   
“You asked for it.”  
“Your opinion doesn’t matter, of course you’re gonna take your girlfriend’s side.”  
If the assumption made Minnie smile, Miyeon’s cheeks turned bright red.  
“We’re not –”

She would’ve never had the chance to tell them what they were not, because they heard the sound of a pair of wings before an owl – Soyeon’s – dropped something on its owner’s legs. For one moment, no one did anything, but then, seeing Soojin didn’t have the courage to do it, Shuhua took the paper.   
There was no need to open it, since the news was on the first page, impossible to miss. Shuhua stayed silent for what Soojin thought were minutes, but it was actually about twenty, maybe thirty seconds. When she lifted her head, her eyes felt emotionless, but the older Slytherin couldn’t think about the annoyed feeling that kept growing inside her chest.  
“They declared him innocent for lack of proofs.” 

The silence was abruptly broke by four voiced that melted together, one louder than the other, in the exact moment when Soojin took the paper from Shuhua’s hands.  
“Let me see!”  
“Move!”  
“Yuqi, you’re pulling my hair!”  
“Well, maybe if you _moved_ –”  
The more she heard them fight, the more Soojin felt the tension leaving her body and she soon found herself smiling. She was right, she knew she could trust him. If he ever had to do with something illegal, he was already clean.   
She laughed when Yuqi grabbed her shoulder from behind, but her smile slowly faded away when she turned around and, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t meet Shuhua’s eyes. The anger grew a little, but she pushed it aside once again, for the sake of the moment. 

“Well, we missed breakfast.” Soyeon commented, gaining a loud complaint from the Gryffindor, when she noticed how many students were coming out of the Great Hall. “Let’s go, I don’t want to be late to class.”  
They all agreed, quickly getting up from the stairs. Yuqi and Shuhua had to go to the dungeons for their Potions class, while the other four had Defence Against the Dark Arts on the third floor. The two younger said goodbye, but they couldn’t even reach the end of the hallway.   
Only when the others climbed a few steps, Miyeon noticed that one of them didn’t follow.   
Minnie stood still at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at them with a determined look on her face. Soojin frowned, turning around to look at her friends, but Soyeon simply shrugged and the Hufflepuff was too focused on her best friend.

“Min, what are you doing? We’re going to be late.”  
A lot of students went past them, but some of them stopped to see what was happening.   
“I need to say something first.”  
Soojin wondered what was so urgent that couldn’t wait until the first break, but once she noticed Minnie never stopped looking at Miyeon, it didn’t take long to connect the dots. She heard Soyeon chuckling beside her and she herself couldn’t hold a smile. 

“And you can’t do it later.” It didn’t sound like a question, but it was. Minnie shook her head in response.  
“No, I need everyone to know this.”  
“To know what? What are you t–”  
“I love you.”  
Soojin’s lips slightly parted, even though she was expecting something like that. She still didn’t think Minnie would’ve been so direct in front of the small – but growing – crowd of students around the stairs. Miyeon froze, but neither of her two friends next to her dared to touch her, or talk to her, or distract her in any other way. 

“I know I messed up and I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but –” She looked at her feet for a moment, before locking eyes with the Hufflepuff again, still ten steps away. “I am terrified of you and I think that’s why I tried to run as far as I could. You’re the only one that could break me into thousands of pieces, isn’t that scary? I always thought I was my own person, that I didn’t need anyone to be happy, but then I think of a life without you and – I would be nothing really. I wouldn’t even _want_ to be someone without you, and it’s not just because you’re my best friend. I love you, I want to wake up next to you everyday. I’m sorry it took me so long, but I know now and I – I won’t move from this spot until you say we can start over and we can do it right.”

Miyeon’s eyes were teary, but she didn’t move a muscle for so long that Soojin started to think the would’ve had to pick up the pieces of Minnie’s heart from the ground. She felt Soyeon grabbing her uniform sweater, silently asking if they should’ve done something. At least twenty other students were watching. The Slytherin shook her head, she knew they had to wait.

In the end Miyeon started walking down, and Soojin could finally relax her shoulders.  
She stopped one step above Minnie’s, putting her arms around her best friend’s shoulders.  
“I’m only doing this because it would be too embarrassing for you if I said no.”  
Minnie widely smiled, showing her teeth, and that was when Miyeon last defense completely fell. As soon as their lips touched, most of the students looked away and started climbing the stairs again.   
When the area was clear again Soojin noticed how Yuqi and Shuhua stayed to see what was going on and in that exact moment they were pretending to be disgusted, just to laugh a second later. Again, when the younger’s eyes met hers from the distance, her mood switched to the opposite. She grabbed Yuqi by the arm and dragged her away without looking back, but for a brief moment Soojin thought she read a pain she had never seen anyone else feel painted all over her face. It was just a second, but enough to install in her a sea of thoughts she wouldn’t have gotten rid of anymore.   
“I don’t think they’re coming to class.” Soyeon snapped her back to reality, with a smile still on her face. “We should get going.”  
She nodded, taking the last peek at the couple that was still in the same position of when she stopped looking at them, kissing as if no one was around.

___________________________________

The weather that day seemed to match Shuhua’s mood perfectly. She kept looking at the letter in her hands while listening to the rain that was hitting the windows and the thunders in the distance. She knew the day was near, Irene told her back in Hogsmeade that things were moving up pretty quickly at the Ministry.  
It was the reason why she tried to keep her distance from everyone, especially from her. It would’ve been better to keep things the way they were, with feelings that would’ve remained unresolved for good. Maybe she was being way too dramatic, she said to herself, but she didn’t know what could’ve happened.  
That was the day.   
The letter from Irene said someone would’ve asked for her that evening and she had to agree to follow them, just like they planned on New Years. She had no choice other than to trust the woman, no one else tried to give her a way out like she did.   
She had something in her hands, she showed her files on files about people who had something to lose because of the prophecy. Some of them she knew, most of them she didn’t. 

Strangely enough she couldn’t worry about herself as much as she worried for others. She thought of her friends, and how things would’ve been the day after. Maybe they would’ve heard about Shuhua’s disappearance, or how she got the Chinese minister arrested. Either way, they would’ve found out about all the lies. _She_ would’ve found out about all the lies, and she wouldn’t have been able to forgive her.   
She sighed, folding the letter and putting it back inside the envelope. She asked herself if that was a mistake, trusting a woman she had met twice in her life, but she couldn’t do otherwise. She decided to take a walk inside the castle, but she only walked for about half an hour, before changing her mind. 

Her thoughts wouldn’t let her rest for a moment, so she suddenly figured she should’ve written them down. If something went wrong in the process, at least her friends would’ve found something to get to know how much she cared for them, even if they met only seven months before. Seven months, she learnt, could flip a life upside down.  
When she sat down, the first letter came out naturally. She talked about Yuqi and how much she enjoyed having a sibiling. About Minnie and how her smile, on Halloween, helped her feel better. Miyeon and how talking to her eased the weight on her stomach. Soyeon remained a mystery to her, so she apologized for not being able to get to know her better. She would’ve like that, she knew they had in common a lot more than it seemed.

She stared at the second paper for long, she wrote something and threw it away uncountable times. Nothing would come, after the few letters written at the top.

_To Soojin,_

What could she say, to Soojin? The idea that she couldn’t have being able to see her again infiltrated her mind and made its way through her whole body. It itched everywhere. A loud voice inside her head kept telling her she should’ve stayed away just like she did during the past weeks, but before she could even realize it, she was standing again. She couldn’t rest, not when her mind was racing just as fast as her heart.

She knew where she was. She pretended not to pay attention to what Soojin said for weeks, but every word that came out of the girl’s mouth dug deeply into her brain and placed itself there for good. Each day was worse than the other, until all she could hear was Soojin’s voice even when she wasn’t with her. She heard her, that same morning, saying she wanted to get back on track with her assignments.  
Knowing she specified she needed to study on her own for the day, Shuhua didn’t need to think about where she could’ve been.   
_It’s quiet_ , she said to her on September. Shuhua kept thinking the dungeons were a weird place to focus, but the thought of Soojin’s cheeks turning bright red for the first time since she met her made her smile and tightly squeezed her heart at the same time.  
It was selfish, going through the cold corridors and taking a peek in every classroom. Her stomach flipped every time, and each empty room just screamed at her that she should’ve gone back. That she wouldn’t have found the courage to leave, if Soojin looked at her straight in the eyes. That she _had_ to leave, and getting close to her for the last time would’ve been extremely selfish.   
The point was Shuhua _was_ selfish, she knew that even if Irene’s plan worked, there was no redemption waiting for her on the other side, not after what she did. But if she was selfish, and if that was the last chance she had to meet Soojin’s eyes without finding them full of resentfulness – then she had to take it. The next day, none of it would’ve mattered anyway.

She found her in one of the furthest classrooms, sitting at the teacher’s desk with four or five books under her nose. The fire in the middle of the room was lit up and inside the cauldron a dense, green liquid was boiling.  
Shuhua smiled, knocking on the open door just once. Soojin lifted her head and frowned as soon as she spotted the younger girl. She didn’t expect her to be there. Actually, she didn’t expect her to be anywhere, not after she ignored her for over a month.   
“What are you doing here?”  
Shuhua bit her lower lip while entering the room. She circled the cauldron, watching inside of it for just a quick second, then she stopped in front of the desk. The girl was already back at reading the steps to make the potion. She sighed, which meant she got something wrong – well, Shuhua could tell by the aspect of the liquid itself, but she decided not to comment on it.

“I need to tell you something.”  
The older girl got up, walking past her to reach the closet. She started looking for something, without giving Shuhua any kind of attention, which of course brought the Chinese to frown.   
“Jin?” Still no response, but Shuhua could tell she stopped looking for whatever she was looking for.  
“Did you hear me?”

She was forced to stare at her back for a few, long seconds, before Soojin turned around. It felt sort of ironic how unreachable she always looked, for a reason or another. At first her gaze was as cold as it could be, impossible to read. Right then it was the total opposite: it was an open book of burning rage, it made Shuhua’s heart stop for a moment, filling it with fear.  
“I don’t.” She said between her teeth. She had never seen her that mad. “I don’t want to hear you, Shuhua. I’m tired. Just leave me alone.”  
She didn’t know what she should’ve expected, but that was the most logical reaction after all. She kept her away when she needed her the most, with everything that went on with her father and her boyfriend, but hearing that tone coming from her mouth still hurt more than she could ever imagine.  
She nodded, not finding anything to say. She knew looking for her could’ve been a mistake, and closing things sooner was for the better. She kept saying that to herself, while making her way towards the entrance of the room.   
“Why?” Only when she got to the door, Soojin’s voice got to her ears again. She was still mad, but Shuhua could hear a crack in her tone, almost like she was desperate to know. What she wanted to know, the younger wasn’t sure.  
She let out a sigh, going back inside. She knew just by looking at her that she wouldn’t have accepted weak excuses.   
“You got what you wanted.” Soojin wasn’t making any sense, but she didn’t dare to interrupt her. “This is what you wanted, right? You wanted me wrapped around your fingers.”  
“I don’t –”  
“Was it all a game to you? You had so much fun chasing me and now that you’re done you think you can throw me out like nothing happened.”  
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” She had to raise her voice to stop Soojin from mumbling more words that didn’t make sense at all to her. 

Soojin shook her head, but the fire inside her eyes only grew bigger. It was frightening, and it was the most attracted she had ever been to her.   
“You don’t know?” Her laugh sounded out of place, perhaps because she didn’t want to laugh at all. “You want to know then?”  
She wasn’t sure she did, but Soojin didn’t wait for an answer.  
“I knew I shouldn’t have let you close, I knew it from the first time I looked at you. But you had to keep trying, you just _had to_ make me care even if I didn’t want to. And then what? When I stopped pushing you away, you decided to treat me like one of those girls that drooled all over you just because you played Quidditch.”  
Shuhua opened her mouth to complain, but Soojin was once again quicker.  
“Maybe that’s what I am to you.” Which was unfair. She perfectly knew how much she cared about her. “You got my attention and you just moved to another girl.”  
“You had a _boyfriend._ ” It wasn’t what she wanted to talk about, but she couldn’t help but defend herself from Soojin’s accusation. Like she didn’t die inside the first time she saw her with Hui. And the second, the third, the last. Like she wouldn’t have given up anything to kiss her like he did.   
“Yes, I did!” Everything was gone, every wall Soojin had put up for protection, every filter between her mind and her mouth. She was in front of the rawest version of Seo Soojin, but she didn’t know if she could take her for long. “I got a boyfriend because I was _terrified_ of what I felt for you, and I thought he could make it go away.”  
She knew she would’ve felt guilty for saying it out loud once she realized.   
“But it was useless. I can’t get away. Every time you look at me, I –” She paused for the first time and Shuhua noticed how her eyes looked down at her lips for a moment, but the moment ended almost immediately. “But you stopped looking at me and I don’t get it. I tried so hard to understand what goes on in your head, but I just don’t.”  
What followed next was silence, interrupted only by the boiling potion in the cauldron. 

“Do you really want to know?”  
She didn’t reply, but her eyes were full of expectation.  
Shuhua considered lying, saying she was right, she was just a game. But she couldn’t, not when Soojin looked at her like everything depended on her.   
She considered telling the truth and let Soojin hate her for good. She couldn’t do that either, because that selfish side of herself kept fighting and, eventually, it won.   
The air was stiff and she felt like she couldn’t breathe, but the longer their gazes stayed on each other, the longer Shuhua felt like they were merging into one. She was never given a choice to look away, she fell in love with her the second their eyes met on the train, and so she didn’t have a choice to look away now.   
Soojin understood. They both moved at the same time, invading each other’s space, crashing their lips together. 

Shuhua had imagined it hundreds of times, but none of it was remotely close to what it actually felt like. It was both the most natural thing she ever did and the most frightening. It was like sinking into the ground, but flying on her broom.   
She always thought the kiss would’ve been sweeter, she couldn’t picture it as anything else. Yet Soojin didn’t give her the time to adjust, before pushing her against the desk. She was still angry, Shuhua could feel it in the way her teeth pressed against her lips and in the way her hands grabbed her waist, leaving red marks where she pressed her fingers.  
It was overwhelming, but Shuhua was sure she would’ve cried if Soojin ever stopped, or even slowed down. She put a hand on the girl’s neck, watching her as she pulled away. Her eyes were completely dark, and they disappeared almost immediately when Soojin kissed her again. 

Just as she felt her hands sliding under her skirt, she had to pull away to breathe again and Soojin took the chance to focus on her neck. Shuhua sighed in delight, but just as the other girl grabbed her tights, she saw something entering the room. It took her a few seconds to let her mind process it, and she was about to forget all about it, because Soojin pressed her teeth on her skin, making her moan, but the _thing_ appeared in her line of sight again.   
It was a cat made of silver smoke that floated into the air behind them, before circling the girls. Shuhua already knew what it was, but Soojin looked confused when she was pushed away of a few inches.   
_Not now_ , she thought, putting her forehead against the older girl’s shoulder. 

When the Patronus spoke, it did it with McGonagall’s voice.  
“Miss Yeh, you are requested in the principal’s office to discuss essential matters.”  
The cat disappeared right after, and neither of them said a thing. She didn’t want to go anymore, she wasn’t ready like she thought only one hour before. She wanted to kiss Soojin again, she wanted Soojin to make her lose all her senses and make her forget about it all.

“Shu?”   
But Soojin’s voice totally changed from anger to concern, and she knew it was too late to go back.  
“This isn’t about school, is it?”  
Shuhua lifted her head, but again she couldn’t lie to her, nor tell her the truth. She smiled, placing a hand on her chest to gently push her away. She climbed down the desk, put her skirt back in place and took a deep breath.  
“I have to go.”  
Soojin didn’t agree, because she didn’t let her take a single step before tightly grabbing her by her wrist. It hurt, but looking at her hurt more.  
“I’m coming with you.”  
“Jin –”  
“ _No._ ”  
Her voice was so firm it made Shuhua close her mouth.  
“I’m coming with you, you’re not doing this alone anymore.”  
She knew Soojin thought it would’ve been just a conversation in the principal’s office, but they way she looked at her said she would’ve gone to the end of the earth for her.   
There were hundreds of reasons why she should’ve said no, the most important being that Soojin wasn’t part of Irene’s plan. Actually, Soojin’s presence might’ve interfered with Irene’s plan and everything could’ve gone wrong.  
There was a single reason why Shuhua nodded, that being the strength she felt just looking at Soojin’s face. If she had to go alone, that strength would’ve disappeared. She had chosen the selfish path once again.  
“Okay.” She said, and only then Soojin loosened the grip on Shuhua’s wrist. “We’ll go together.”


	17. of truths, part two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the end is closer every day hehe  
> thank you for the nice comments under the last chapter, and thank you for freaking out over sooshu hahahah i perfectly understand  
> this is the chapter of the plot twist, but i left a little clue in the first part, i wonder if anyone got it hmm  
> well, i'll leave you to it, let me know what you think of this finale so far :)

**January the 1st.**

Out of the files placed in her hands, she had seen a few of those people in the newspapers, both in China and in the United Kingdom. Weirdly enough, the one that stood out the most to her wasn’t the Chinese minister, but a man she had met just the week before. Irene must’ve noticed.  
“ _Seo Jihoon has been in contact with the Chinese black market for almost twenty years. He’s made more galleons than we could ever count, but the price –_ ” She shook her head, almost like she felt sorry for him. “ _Once you get yourself in this kind of business, you can’t escape. He owes them too much now. That’s when you get in the picture. You see, Seers have always been scary for our Ministry, so just try to imagine how threatened they felt when they heard there was a prophecy about a Seer that will change the leadership forever._ ”  
She wanted to tell her she had never shown any of that divinatory talent, but she felt like it was pointless to state that out, so she just kept looking at the moving picture of the man that welcomed her in his house on Christmas like she was part of the family.  
“ _They want to get rid of you before it’s too late. This is supposed to be Seo’s last traffic, he will exchange your life for his freedom._ ”  
She felt sick again, but she held her breath for a long moment. She didn’t want to throw up again.  
“ _If you know all this, why don’t you arrest him? And everyone else?_ ”  
Irene smiled, and Shuhua immediately understood it couldn’t be that simple.  
“ _It’s three Aurors against a Ministry. They would lock us up, or worse._ ”  
“ _But Seo works for the British Ministry, things are different here._ ”  
“ _We can’t do anything until he’s got their protection. That’s why I need you._ ”  
They looked at each other and Shuhua got the unpleasant feeling she wouldn’t have liked the information to come.  
“ _I understand you’re close with Seo’s daughter._ ”  
Irene didn’t need to say her proposal out loud for Shuhua to understand, but she did nonetheless.  
“ _This could help us find something we can frame him for. It’s a long shot, but even making him feel threatened will help us. He will want to speed up the process and he will be more likely to make a mistake. Our Ministry will withdraw once they see he’s not careful and he will have no protection anymore. _”  
It was a lot, what Irene was asking her to do. She knew it was all bigger than the feelings she had for the girl, but a part of her wanted to refuse on the spot. Soojin would’ve hated her no matter the outcome. The rational part knew that she had to accept, and that was why she did. __

__

__**February the 7th.** _ _

__Over the last month she considered withdrawing almost every day. Since her seventeenth birthday Soojin made sure not to leave her alone for more than a few hours. They spent more time together than they did separately. They ate, studied, hung out together.  
Everyday she found herself falling for the girl and for every little detail she discovered about her. From time to time Soojin would just lift her head from her books and smile at her, and those were the most difficult moments.  
She started to think there was a small chance Soojin was falling for her as well, making her consider writing Irene to tell her she didn’t want to do it anymore. She never did, dwelling on her own thoughts for weeks, and even if she found her with Hui that day and proved to herself that Soojin’s feelings existed only in her head, she still knew the older girl cared about her. _ _

__When Soojin decided to open up, that morning on the Astronomy Tower, Shuhua felt sick to her stomach again. She pushed her a little, but she didn’t think it would’ve worked, yet Soojin’s story was detailed enough to find the store she was talking about.  
In one last desperate attempt, she tried to show the girl how much of a liar her father was.  
“It doesn’t matter anyway, it’s in the past.”  
“I think it matters.” Perhaps if Soojin saw things from her prospective, she wouldn’t have hated her as much at the end of it all. “That’s serious. What if he’s involved in something illegal?”  
_What if._  
“He’s not.”  
There was no doubt in her voice, and Shuhua was starting to get agitated.  
“You don’t know, what was he doing in a store like that?”_ _

__But she pushed too much, and of course it backfired. She watched as Soojin got up, putting her books back in her bag, and she knew there was nothing else she could do. Yet her frustration took control, and it wasn’t just about Soojin’s father anymore.  
“Of course you’re running away.” It was also for all the times the girl looked like she felt something beyond friendship for her, but pulled away without exceptions.  
“What is that supposed to mean?”  
“What do you think?”  
It hurt, meeting her cold gaze, and just for a moment she felt the desire to hurt Soojin just as much as she hurt her, just so that she could understand.  
“I think you’re reading it all wrong.”  
But, no matter how hard she tried, Soojin had the tightest grip on her. She read it all wrong, she had been delusional for over a month, thinking she would’ve loved her back someday. _ _

__As soon as Soojin left, Shuhua wrote the letter. She put everything she could remember about the last conversation, focusing on the description of the store owner. If Irene could find out who the man was, they would’ve had a lead._ _

__

__**February the 14th.** _ _

__She didn’t have a date, but the crowded Hogsmeade streets for Valentine’s Day were perfect to meet Irene in plain sight without anyone really noticing.  
She put the uniform hood over her head just to be sure, but she thought no one saw her anyway. How wrong she was._ _

__“ _The owner confessed._ ” The woman explained in her mother tongue, while they entered the secondary street where the Hog’s Head was located. “ _He admitted Seo was a regular costumer of his, but I don’t think this will be enough. We have to be ready._ ”  
Shuhua wondered what that meant, but she didn’t find the courage to ask.  
They watched Soojin’s father entering the pub from afar. “Why is he here?” The girl asked, without even realizing she didn’t use Chinese.  
“ _I will tell you another time. Now go, there’s nothing else you can do now. Be ready._ ” She said again. “ _The day they will ask you to grab the prophecy for them is close. You’ll get my message before theirs, I promise._ ”  
She rubbed her shoulder for a moment, before following the man inside the pub. _ _

__At the same time, Shuhua caught a glimpse of dark hair and red lips not far from her, and that was how they ended up in the alley.  
That was also when Shuhua regretted her action the most, looking at how vulnerable Soojin looked while asking her to let her in. But she couldn’t, because Soojin wouldn’t have helped at all at that stage. If anything, she would’ve made things worse.  
And so she had to refuse her help, she had to close her off completely, and she knew she would’ve had to keep her distance until the end. While Soojin hugged her, she started crying, because that felt like a goodbye.  
Then they heard the noises from the street, and Shuhua slipped for just a moment that went by unnoticed by the older.  
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” It was all her fault, what was happening and what would’ve happened.  
She couldn’t watch it, so she didn’t follow Soojin. Instead, she went the other way, getting as far as possible from the pain she caused herself._ _

__

__**March the 4th.** _ _

__She knew what the newspaper would say. The owner of the store didn’t show up to the process and that was why the Wizengamot had to declare Seo Jihoon innocent, because they lost the only one that could testify.  
Irene said it was a good thing in her last letter, because the man would’ve tried to get out of the situation as soon as possible. According to her, it would’ve all been over in a few weeks, maybe even less. What _over_ meant, no one knew yet.  
She needed to hold on a bit longer, and keep living her days like nothing was about to happen. She needed to keep hanging out with her friends so that they wouldn’t have asked any question, but mostly she needed to avoid Soojin until the end, because every time she looked at her she just wanted to tell her everything, to say she was sorry, that her guilt was eating her from the inside.  
She couldn’t, or every decision she had made would’ve been vane. _ _

__

______________________________________ _

__

__Nothing turned out as expected, and if a part of it was her fault, she had no idea about the other.  
For instance, she didn’t expect to find the British Minister himself waiting in McGonagall’s office. The man was standing next to the principal’s desk, his face didn’t reveal any emotion except for the surprise of seeing two girls go through the door.  
“Soojin.” He said, tensing up. Shuhua sometimes forgot how close Soojin and Soyeon were, it was obvious Mr. Jeon knew her well enough after seven years.  
“Miss Seo.” McGonagall stood up from her seat, looking at them both. “I believe only Miss Yeh’s presence was requested.”  
Soojin opened her mouth to reply, but Shuhua was quicker. “I asked her to come. It’s okay, she already knows everything.”  
The principal sighed, but didn’t comment any further. It was clear she was used to how teenagers behaved, even with serious matters like that one.  
“Take a seat, please.” He said, but Shuhua didn’t move of an inch.  
“I’m fine.”  
Six or seven months before she would’ve never spoken to an adult with that tone, but the more she got involved in their business, the more she understood they didn’t deserve her being polite, not even when the adult in question was the most important wizard in all Britain.  
He nodded, he didn’t seem too bothered anyway. He probably just wanted to get it over with, Shuhua’s feelings were not relevant at all.  
“I believe you know the power a prophecy holds by now.”  
She wondered if she should’ve, considering the Divination lessons she took once a week, but the truth was even if professor Trelawney had some knowledge to give, Shuhua never fully listened to her. She wished she had.  
McGonagall coughed before the girl could say no.  
“She’s just a kid, she is not supposed to know.” She didn’t appreciate being called a kid, but since it worked in her favor she let it slide.  
“Of course.” The man agreed, bowing his head. Even though he was the Minister, it looked like the principal held more power than he did. “However, she has to know that a prophecy could decide our fate in many ways.”  
McGonagall didn’t look convinced, but she still let him finish. Shuhua on the other hand was getting irritated by them talking like she wasn’t in the room.  
“In the wrong hands, it could bring the downfall upon our Ministry as we know it.” A little bit too dramatic, but she decided not to say it. “I feel terribly sorry, but I have to ask you to take it for us tonight.”  
She raised her eyebrows, keeping her eyes on him the whole time. One thing she knew, about prophecies, and it was that only the person involved could put their hands on them. In that case, it meant they couldn’t do anything without Shuhua’s help._ _

__“I’m aware this feels sudden.” Not at all. Shuhua knew it was coming, but of course she couldn’t tell. She felt Soojin’s hand closing around her arm, but she didn’t turn around to look at her. The idea of letting the girl come with her seemed foolish now, she should’ve left her in the dungeons.  
“But things are moving fast, we cannot wait until tomorrow.”  
McGonagall coughed again. “Remember she is one of my students. If I don’t see her in my office in two hours, I will personally visit the Ministry.”  
He had nothing to say about it, he simply bowed his head once again and got close to the chimney.  
“Miss Seo, you can wait here if you like.”  
Soojin’s grip tightened and this time Shuhua was almost forced to look at her. She met determination, the other wouldn’t have let her go alone.  
“I won’t go without her.”  
Again, deep down she knew it was a bad idea, letting Soojin witness everything that was about to go down, from her father meeting with someone in the Chinese black market to Irene hopefully arresting the man, but she still gained strength from looking at her eyes, and couldn’t tell her to stay behind.  
“Very well.” He looked concerned, but after looking at the two girl for a second, he grabbed the Floo Powder and got inside the chimney.  
“Ministry of Magic, London.” He clearly said, disappearing inside the flames right after.  
And now it was their turn._ _

__

____________________________________ _

__

__They hadn’t heard from Soojin and Shuhua all afternoon, but Yuqi didn’t think much of it. Soojin told them she wanted to study on her own like she did from time to time, and Shuhua was being her weird usual self. Judging by the last few weeks, at least. She tried to get her to talk about what was bothering her, and although she never succeeded, she had a feeling it had something to do with their Slytherin friend.  
Besides she would be lying if she said her mind wasn’t fully occupied by the girl under her. They were on Soyeon’s bed, with the curtains closed and the silencing spell already casted, and even though they were still dressed, Yuqi hoped they wouldn’t be for long.  
It didn’t happen again, after that time in the changing room. She thought they were past the stage where she would have to worry about touching her, but as soon as she placed a hand on her hip, Soyeon pulled away from the kiss.  
She smiled at her, but Yuqi knew nothing else would’ve happened that night either.  
She grunted, getting off her. _ _

__“Yuqi…” Soyeon tried, but the younger didn’t want to hear it. She also didn’t want to leave, so she just stayed on her back, staring at the blue ceiling.  
Her plan was just to ignore her and hopefully go to sleep soon, but Yuqi was not one to hold her feelings in, she’d rather burst in anger instead of bottling things up. Anyone who knew her always described her as hot headed, but Soyeon said more than once that it was one of her traits she liked the most.  
“I don’t understand. I thought you just wanted to wait, but –” She turned her head, meeting Soyeon’s eyes. “You didn’t like it, did you?”  
Which would’ve been a hit, she couldn’t even lie to herself. It just was not an option, doing something wrong. She had to be good at everything, and failing at _that_ out of all things – what was she supposed to do?  
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Yet she didn’t deny it.  
“Then what is it?”  
Soyeon sighed, turning on the side to face her.  
“It’s nothing. I don’t get why you’re overthinking this so much. Sometimes I want to do it, sometimes I don’t.”  
There were times, just like that one, when Yuqi thought she didn’t know her girlfriend at all. She couldn’t deny her mysterious aura was one of the reasons why she had gotten close to her, but it didn’t mean she still had to feel like she was being lied to.  
“No.” She mumbled, sitting up. The Ravenclaw followed immediately. “You can’t just like me once a month, it’s not how it works.”  
“What are you talking about? I always like you!” She noticed from her tone she was getting frustrated, and Yuqi deep down knew she wasn’t making any sense, but she couldn’t think straight.  
“Did you have sex with her?”  
“What?”  
“Did you?”  
Soyeon knew who she was talking about, of course she knew, because every time she was brought up, the Ravenclaw clenched her jaw and tensed her shoulders.  
“Yes.”  
“More than once?”  
She let out a frustrated sigh, and Yuqi didn’t need her to answer with words. They officially dated for two months, while her and Soyeon were dating for three already.  
“Yuqi.”_ _

__The Gryffindor didn’t listen, she just scrolled the girl’s hand off her shoulder, before getting out of bed. She quickly put her shoes back on and made her way across the room.  
“Yuqi!” Soyeon whispered again, trying not to wake up her roommates, but Minnie and Miyeon – who was also going to sleep there – peeked their heads from behind the curtains of Minnie’s bed. Yuqi ignored them too, getting out of the room._ _

__

________________________________ _

__

__The hallways of the bottom floor looked all the same, Shuhua thought. She looked around, trying not to make eye contact with neither of the people she was walking with, but her hand was still in Soojin’s. She refused to let go.  
After a long walk, they got in front of a door guarded by two Aurors. Waiting for them was Seo Jihoon, but his face dropped and his skin got paler once he saw them. Clearly he didn’t expect his daughter to be there. He frowned, looking at the Minister, but before he could ask him why Soojin was there, the girl left Shuhua’s side.  
“Dad!” She ran up to him, putting her arms around his shoulders, and he immediately returned the hug. The thought that perhaps he wasn’t a bad man went through her mind, so she had to look down. She couldn’t take the guilty feeling that stabbed her right in the middle of her chest.  
“What are you doing here?” He asked her, and she just turned around to look at the younger girl. She didn’t meet her eyes.  
“I see.” The man commented. “You’re just like me, you would do anything to help a friend.”  
“We should get inside, but I need to warn you both.” Soyeon’s father stared at the two girls with a serious look in his face that gave Shuhua chills. “Do not divide, do not get away from us. The Department of Mystery hides a lot of secrets and changes continuously, if you get lost, we might not find you for days.”  
Shuhua gulped, suddenly too afraid to move. Only when she looked at Soojin and she saw the girl was tending her a hand, she found the courage to walk through the door._ _

__On the other side there was a long corridor with dozens of doors on each side. It looked like it would never hand and made Shuhua feel dizzy.  
“Sir.” A man with a uniform Shuhua had never seen stood up in front of them. “This way, sir. We’ve been tracking the Hall of Prophecies all day, it moved more often than usual.”  
Shuhua wondered if it had anything to do with her, like the room itself was alive and capable of thinking. Like it wanted to hide from her.  
Soojin grabbed her hand and, together, they followed the three men down the corridor. Most of the doors were shut, but from time to time someone with the same unfamiliar uniform came out of one of the rooms, revealing a peek of what was inside.  
Shuhua was too tense to focus on any detail, but Soojin looked rather interested in every single one of the rooms. _ _

__It felt like they walked for hours when they finally stopped in front of a black, plain door. The Minister dismissed the man in a hurry, intimating them to go in.  
“Unspeakables can be quite nosey, right?” Only Jihoon smiled. Shuhua wasn’t even sure what an Unspeakable was, but if she had to take a wild guess, she’d say it had something to do with that uniform. “Well, it’s their job after all.”  
The girl wasn’t really listening, since all her attention was caught by the huge room they were now in. If it wasn’t for the blue candles and for the soft light coming from the hundreds of orbs on the shelf, it would’ve been pitch black.  
Soojin grabbed her pullover while they got further away from the door, going through the maze that the high shelves created. Without someone that knew the room well, it would’ve been easy to get lost. The men seemed to know where they were going though, and for some long minutes the only sound that could be heard was from the steps echoing in the void of the Hall._ _

__Then they suddenly stopped. Shuhua’s heart was racing in her chest and, even if no one said anything at all, the girl knew something was off. They didn’t point a prophecy for her to grab, they just gave the two girls their backs, looking around like they were searching for something. Or waiting for someone.  
“Dad?” Soojin must’ve noticed too, because her voice was uncertain, even lower than usual. Shuhua’s heart sunk even more.  
“This is unfortunate, isn’t it?” The man said, turning to face his daughter. “You have a good heart, baby girl, maybe too good. It’s unfortunate, really.”  
She could see confusion in Soojin’s face, but to Shuhua it was all clear. It was unfortunate _she_ was the one she had chosen to be friend with. It was unfortunate that her own father would’ve broken her heart. For a moment, she wondered if he could’ve hurt Soojin too.  
“Unfortunate? Dad…” She was close to begging, the frustration in her voice was clear as day.  
“When you invited her for Christmas…” He sighed, shaking his head. “I wish I could’ve done it then, you know? But I knew I had to wait. I hoped until last minute your friendship would come to an end. Well, it’s fine.” _ _

__Shuhua couldn’t bring herself to hear it. She let their voices go in the background, while she looked to the side to read the nametags for each prophecy. She felt Jeon’s burning gaze on her skin, but she ignored it for some time.  
“Just explain what is going on.”  
Soojin’s voice had gotten firm, angry almost, and Shuhua knew she was coming to the realization her father wasn’t the perfect, loving man she pictured him.  
“They will never let me go if I don’t do this, do you understand? I’m in too much debt with them.”  
“Them?”  
The Chinese girl soon realized he would have never given his daughter a real answer.  
“He’s exchanging me for his freedom.” She said, locking eyes with the man. He looked twisted while he smiled at her.  
“It’s a shame wasting such a brilliant mind. She’s smart, I get why you like her.”  
Soojin didn’t know what to say, so she just let her eyes roam back and forth between the two. _ _

__“Why here?” Shuhua asked, but the question was more for the Minister. “If you don’t actually need me to grab the prophecy, why did you bring me here?”  
“Because I wanted to explain.” He said, and Shuhua could read the deep pain inside his eyes. “But I don’t think I can do it anymore. I can’t risk this story to get out of this Department.”  
Which meant they were not planning on hurting Soojin in the process, so Shuhua could finally ease her shoulders.  
“Tell them.” Jihoon said. “We’re going to Obliviate her anyway, she knows too much already. Her friend will die in a terrible accident, that’s the story.”  
“What?” Shuhua stepped up, getting close to them while she grabbed her wand.  
“This is not a good place for rushed spells.” The Minister warned her. “Lower your wand.”  
The idea of Mr. Seo wanting to manipulate his daughter’s memories made her feel sick, but her rational side knew the other man was right. She could’ve risked dropping the shelves on them, and might’ve ended up killing someone in the process. _ _

__“She will be here any minute now, we can wait in silence.” Jihoon sounded impatient, like he wanted to get things over with as soon as possible. In his mind, making Soojin forget that night would’ve brought peace to his perfect family.  
Shuhua thought of her father, and how she didn’t even get the chance to hug him since the Christmas break. The more minutes passed, the more she found flaws in Irene’s plan. First of all, she was supposed to grab the prophecy in her hands, but that went immediately wrong. Second – she didn’t know they’d be waiting for someone else. She thought the woman would’ve got there with other Aurors to frame Seo Jihoon. Then, he would’ve confessed the names of the Chinese wizards he had made deals with.  
A new wizard or witch in the picture changed everything, but again – she already changed everything when she decided to let Soojin follow her. _ _

__“How can you do this to me? I’m your daughter.”  
Shuhua got close to the shelf, reading every name she could lay her eyes on. She heard the conversation happening, kept the wand in her hand just in case, but stayed patient. Irene would’ve showed up any minute, she just needed to not mess everything up.  
“That is exactly why I need to do it. Once this is over, we can be happy. All three of us. I don’t have to fear anymore, I can live in peace with my family again.”  
She heard Soojin scoffing from behind her, but her head became to spin once she eyed a specific nametag. She tried to reach it with a hand, but the Minister had kept an eye on her the whole time. “I wouldn’t do it. Terrible things happen to those who dare to touch a prophecy that doesn’t belong to them.”  
Except, she was sure, that prophecy belonged to her. It would’ve been too much of a coincidence otherwise.  
That had to be _the_ prophecy that started it all, the reason why they stopped in front of that shelf, the reason why Mr. Jeon’s eyes looked so deeply hurt.  
She didn’t even register where the conversation between the Seos had shifted, her head was pulsing and wouldn’t let her concentrate on anything else. All there was were voices in the background.  
“You put your trust on the wrong people, baby girl.”  
“What is that supposed to mean?”_ _

__Shuhua didn’t hear it, only a name flew around her brain the whole time. The tag attached to the prophecy.  
_Jeon Soyeon.__ _

__

__________________________________ _

__

__Yuqi was half way through the stairs that led to Ravenclaw common room, determined to get out of there and go back to her room, even if it meant having to walk the whole seventh floor hallway. It didn’t matter, her rage was bigger than the fear of dark and sinister corridors.  
She went down another step, before feeling a hand on her shoulder. She recognized her touch, of course she did, and as much as she wanted to keep going, she just didn’t.  
She turned around, but when her eyes met Soyeon’s, a cold shiver went down her spine. She had never seen that look on her face. Even though her eyes were apparently the same as usual, they also seemed lost, distant, almost like Soyeon was watching something that Yuqi couldn’t see.  
Before the Gryffindor could ask her what was wrong, the older girl opened her mouth, but her voice came out like some sort of ancient song, powerful and frightening at the same time. _ _

__“ _Tonight… more than one betrayal will happen tonight, and what she had gained she will loose again. And the most powerful magic will determine the faith of all alliances, but the price to pay will be the highest._ ”_ _

__The moment passed and Soyeon blinked multiple times, looking the most confused she had ever seen her. Yuqi on the other hand was frozen, terrified of what she had just witnessed.  
“Yuqi?” The other asked, with a worried look on her face. “What happened? What –”  
In that moment Minnie and Miyeon came out of the room, probably just to check what was going on between the two, but meeting Yuqi’s pale face they got alarmed.  
“What happened?” The Hufflepuff asked, putting an arm around the younger one’s shoulders. “Yuqi?”  
“We –” Her mouth was dry, so she forced herself to gulp once before trying again. “We need to go to professor McGonagall _now_.”_ _

__

__She tried to explain it along the way, but she knew her words were confused and her shaky voice didn’t help. Soyeon didn’t understand, and the other two looked concerned, but not as much as the Gryffindor._ _

__They let themselves in without knocking, but once they looked better, they noticed McGonagall wasn’t alone. She was arguing with a man and it took Yuqi a few moments, but then she remembered when she had seen him. In one of Shuhua’s picture. He was her father.  
“How could you send there alone?”  
“She’s not alone, Mr. Yeh, she’s with the Minister himself, the most trusted man in this magical part of the world.”  
They stopped as soon as the group of students rushed in the office, and the principal eyed them with a sever look.  
“You better have a good explanation or I will make sure your houses loses more points than you have ever gained in seven years.”  
They didn’t care about the house points, but Yuqi started to explain what she had seen and heard. It took her long, because her words were still confused. She was sweating, avoiding to look at Soyeon just to keep it all together, and only when she saw the principal’s face turn into a worried one, she dared to stop.  
“Me and Mr. Yeh will try to understand this matter and put an end to it, you girls –”  
“We’re coming.” Miyeon spoke first, but the others nodded, even though Soyeon still looked fairly scared.  
“This business is not for kids.”  
“Please, professor.” The shorter girl spoke from the first time, taking a step ahead. “I need to speak to my father.”  
They stared at each other, Soyeon and professor McGonagall, for long, but in the end the old woman let out a sigh.  
“You will come to the Ministry, but for _no reason_ you will follow us in the Department of Mysteries. You will wait with the Aurors, where you will be safe, until we return with your father and your friends.”_ _

__The information made them hesitate.  
“Our friends? Shuhua and Soojin are there? Why?” Minnie asked, but her voice went so quick it was hard to understand.  
“I’m afraid this will have to wait, Miss Yontararak, until we get a clear idea of what is happening. If some of you want to wait here…”  
They didn’t let her finish again.  
“No, we’re all coming.”  
“Very well. Mr. Yeh can go first, I will go last.”  
They gathered around the chimney, waiting for their turn to use the Floo Network. For the first time Yuqi looked at Soyeon and, even though the image of her in that sort of trance was still fresh inside her head, she still smiled at her, grabbing her hand. It didn’t matter how scary thing would’ve gotten, she wanted her to know she was with her until the end._ _


End file.
